Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 604: The Underworld: The Pure-natured Yan Zhu Di
"Fourth Brother! Dad told you to get out now!"

"Thief Lao Si! You, a fellow with thick eyebrows and big eyes, actually want to steal the throne from my eldest nephew. You are such a shameless fellow!"

"Uncle, Grandpa has been waiting here for a long time. When will you come out?"

Outside the Daming Palace, Zhu Gang, Zhu Chong and Zhu Yunwen were constantly calling out to Zhu Di, while looking with jealousy at the palace complex covering thousands of acres in front of them.

"You are such a good Zhu Laosi! My father only has a mansion, but you actually live in a palace complex!"

Zhu Gang spoke out of jealousy, which made Zhu Yuanzhang feel a little embarrassed.

Did he not want to live in a palace complex? It was because he had no palace complex to live in.

He asked Ying Zheng, Liu Bang and others that the emperor's residence represented the influence they had on future generations during their lifetime.

From this point of view alone, among the more than 400 emperors, most of them only had mansions of more than ten acres. Even those who unified the country like him, Yang Jian, and Liu Bang, as well as those who made historical achievements like Tuoba Hong and Zhao Kuangyin, could only live in mansions. Only four people, namely Qin Shi Huang, Han Wudi, Tang Taizong, and Genghis Khan, could live in palaces.

In addition, speaking only of the palace, even with these four people, it is just one entire palace. There is no such thing as a complex of palaces.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but look at the Daming Palace in front of him.

The palace complex with concrete and wooden mortise and tenon structures is eye-catching. Although not as beautiful as blue bricks, the craftsmen have also outlined traces of imitation bricks, giving an indescribable feeling.

Just from the issue of the palace complex, we can see how great an influence Zhu Di had on the world in later generations.

Zhu Yuanzhang felt proud but also a little melancholy.

After all, if that were the case, wouldn’t that mean he had made the wrong choice?

"Zhu Laosi!"

"Fourth Uncle!"

"Zhu Di..."

Zhu Gang and the other two were still shouting, but at this time hundreds of former meritorious officials and civil servants had gathered outside the Daming Palace.

"Tian De, your son-in-law has done a great job. His achievements far exceed those of the Qin Emperor, Han Wudi, and Tang Zong."

"With an area of ​​more than 4,800 miles, you old man Tiande is quite comfortable."

"Hehe... No, no, actually I knew Zhu Di would do a good job, but I didn't expect him to do so well."

"Most likely with the help of his son."

"He is also my grandson... By the way, Yun Gong, come over and tell me how your brother-in-law and his men are doing."

Outside the Daming Palace, Chang Yuchun, Deng Yu, Fu Youde, Feng Sheng and others all enviously praised Xu Da for his good vision. Xu Da nodded happily and at the same time asked Xu Huizu and others who had just arrived in this world how his good son-in-law was doing.

Facing the afterlife, Xu Huizu could only hold his nose and admit: "It was indeed a good job, but most of it was Gao Xu's credit."

"Gao Xu?" When Zhu Yuanzhang heard the name, he immediately turned his gaze to the King of Zhou Zhu Su who had just arrived.

"Dad, Yunwen..."

Zhu Su was still crying about what Zhu Yunwen had done to him, but Zhu Yuanzhang said impatiently:
"You're fine, right? If you're fine, don't mention it. Let's talk about Gao Xu."

"Uh...ah?" Zhu Su was stunned at first, then surprised, and finally calmly began to introduce the achievements of Zhu Di and his son.

As he spoke, the people around him began to listen attentively.

Since Zhu Su only lived before the Western Expedition, he only talked about how Zhu Di and his son made six voyages to the West, launched four major cases, repeatedly conquered the northern desert, swept the land, and governed the four overseas continents.

Even so, it had already stunned everyone.

"That kid Zhu Di... conquered such a large territory."

Even Xu Da, who personally trained Zhu Di, couldn't help but be a little shocked at this moment.
"Anyway, when I passed away, my Ming Dynasty stretched from Dongzhou in the east to Lingbei in the north, from Antarctica in the south to Kunlun in the west. We had 77 vassal states at home and abroad, and our population had nearly quadrupled compared to the Hongwu period."

"But Fourth Brother was only the emperor for seventeen years, and then he became the emperor emeritus. Gao Xu basically took care of everything afterwards..."

When talking about the Ming Dynasty during its lifetime, all the officials and civil servants standing outside the Daming Palace couldn't help but puff out their chests.

"Jingchun..."

"Father, I am the hereditary Duke of Qian, and I also destroyed several small countries."

Mu Ying asked Mu Chun nervously. After all, in his opinion, his son should not have had a good life after the Jingnan Rebellion. Unexpectedly, Mu Chun spoke in a "low-key" manner, which attracted a lot of attention.

"Jiujiang..." Li Wenzhong also looked at Li Jinglong anxiously. Li Jinglong coughed and said:
"Father, although I didn't destroy many countries, I did destroy quite a few chieftains in the southwest."

"That's good. You didn't bring shame to our Li family." Li Wenzhong patted Li Jinglong's shoulder with relief.

"Yun Gong, where are you guys?"

Xu Da looked at his sons with anticipation. After all, in his opinion, Xu Huizu and others were Zhu Di's brothers-in-law, and they should be given important positions.

"Dad, I...I refuse the official position and stay at home."

Xu Huizu spoke after hesitating for a moment, and Xu Da looked at the others with wide eyes.

"Dad, I too..." Xu Yingxu lowered his head, and Xu Da looked past the young Xu Tianping and looked at Xu Zengshou.

"Dad, my brother-in-law and I went on several expeditions to the north and earned a title of marquis, but..."

Xu Zengshou looked at Xu Huizu awkwardly, and Xu Huizu felt a little puzzled.

"Xu Qin committed a crime and his title was stripped..."

"What did you say?" Xu Da and Xu Huizu widened their eyes, but Xu Zengshou quickly added:
"But it's okay, my brother-in-law gave me the title of Duke of Wei!"

"That is not bad……"

Xu Da breathed a sigh of relief, but Xu Huizu felt as uncomfortable as if he had eaten shit.

While everyone was explaining the changes that took place in the next thirty-four years after Jianwen, Zhu Di had already arrived behind the gate of Daming Palace and lay down behind the door, listening to the sounds outside.

Hearing everyone praising him, Zhu Di felt better and became bolder.

But he still stuck his butt out and looked out through the crack in the city gate: "That's not right... Why hasn't the old monk come out? What should I do if he doesn't come out?"

Zhu Di was looking for Yao Guangxiao. Seeing this, Zhu Gaochi said, "Dad, we will be killed if we stick our heads out. We might as well open the city gates directly."

"You know nothing!" Zhu Di cursed without hesitation: "Don't you know how powerful your grandfather is? I think you want your grandfather to deal with me!"

"I...I...I really don't have such an idea." Zhu Gaochi hesitated, and Zhu Di snorted coldly.

"Well, it doesn't hurt to go out and take a look."

As soon as Empress Xu spoke, Zhu Di gritted his teeth, then took out a three-foot-long blueprint from his sleeve, and said with luck: "Fortunately, I have prepared... With this thing, I should not be chopped by my father."

"Boss, come and give me a hand!"

Zhu Di said as he handed the blueprint to Zhu Gaochi, then he put the gate bolt aside, and finally mustered up the courage to open the gate...

"squeak……"

As the sound of the city gate opened, everyone's attention was drawn to it.

In full view of the public, the 36-year-old Zhu Di walked out of the city gate, accompanied by the gentle and generous Empress Xu, and the seductive Zhu Gaochi.

"You are such a good fellow, Zhu Laosi! How dare you make Dad wait for so long!"

"Zhu Di, hurry up and come down and salute your father!"

"Fourth Uncle... come down!"

"His Majesty……"

For a moment, the entrance of Daming was filled with all kinds of noises.

There was Zhu Gang who was still stubborn, Zhu Chong whose tone had softened, Zhu Yunwen who was saluting in a weird tone, and the voices of many old ministers who had died before Zhu Di who were paying their respects.

But none of this matters. The most important thing at this moment is only one person and one thing.

Zhu Di's eyes immediately fell on Zhu Yuanzhang, Empress Ma, Zhu Biao and Zhu Xiongying.

When he saw Lao Zhu, who was in his early forties, his legs almost weakened and he fell to his knees.

Fortunately, he had his achievements to back him up, so Zhu Di immediately snatched the blueprint from Zhu Gaochi and shook it off.

[General Map of the Four Barbarians Submitting to the Ming Dynasty]

As Zhu Di hastily drew the "General Map of the Four Barbarians in the Ming Dynasty" appeared, everyone fell silent and shut their mouths.

Zhu Di could emphasize the traces of Zhuge Liang's territory during his lifetime, and then draw his own territory to cover it up.

On this map, the place where Mongolia made its fortune and the Western Regions were already in the hands of the Ming Dynasty. For the first time, the seven continents and four oceans appeared in front of the people in the underworld in the form of this kind of drawing.

“This world is so big…”

"The territory of our Ming Dynasty is almost covering the entire world..."

"No, there is no trace of us in Xizhou."

"It will probably be soon..."

As Zhu Di posted the map, many ministers from the Hongwu period began to discuss it, and Zhu Di gradually became more confident in the discussion.

But soon, he began to lose confidence.

"Why, is this a show of force for me?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's voice seemed to come from the underworld. Zhu Di shuddered physically, then trotted to Zhu Yuanzhang and immediately said pitifully:
"Dad, I'm not showing off, I'm telling you that I haven't slacked off in these years!"

"Zhu Laosi, you actually stole the throne from my eldest brother's lineage!"

Zhu Gang immediately stood up to accuse Zhu Di, and Zhu Biao looked a little embarrassed.

"Fourth..."

"Brother! I'm not trying to seize the throne. It's Yunwen who was fooled too much by Huang Zicheng and others and wants to kill me!" Zhu Di's tears came suddenly, and his wailing appearance made people suspicious.

Seeing this, Zhu Yunwen was afraid that his lies would be exposed, so he quickly said, "Forget it, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have listened to the flatterers."

"No, nephew, you can't say that!"

Zhu Gang quickly said, "This Zhu Laosi prepared 300,000 people to rebel in advance. It's obvious that this was premeditated!"

"Three hundred thousand? Me?" Zhu Di pointed at himself, so confused that he forgot to cry.

"Old Four, wasn't it you who led 300,000 soldiers to rebel?"

"It's unfair! Where did I get 300,000 people?"

Zhu Biao noticed something was wrong, and Zhu Di quickly protested: "After my father passed away, Yunwen sent someone to take away the military power of the Sandusi, and I gave it to him truthfully, and then took my three Yanshan guards back to Beiping."

"Later, Yunwen reduced the power of the Fifth and Twelve Princes. Less than three months later, he transferred my Three Guards of Yanshan to Kaiping. I had 800 guards at the time. As a result, Yunwen sent people to attack me and planned to take me to Nanjing. I started the army with 800 guards to protect myself."

"Dad, big brother, mom...if you don't believe me, you can ask Yun Gong and Jiu Jiang. I really don't lie!"

Zhu Di couldn't hold it any longer. If he had 300,000 troops to quell the rebellion, why would he need his second in command to march across the Yangtze and Huai Rivers? He could have conquered the Central Plains by himself.

"Ok?"

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and looked at Zhu Yunwen, and indeed saw that Zhu Yunwen looked guilty.

But before he could open his mouth, Zhu Gang beside him couldn't help laughing and said:

"Hahahaha... Zhu Laosi, in order to avoid being punished, you can really say anything?"

"Eight hundred people raised an army to quell the rebellion and fought against the imperial court's million-strong army? Hahahahahaha..."

Zhu Gang couldn't help laughing, but as he was laughing he became angry and said, "You take us for fools!"

After Zhu Gang said this, he noticed the gazes of the people around him.

He looked around and saw that the ministers of the Yongle period were all looking at him strangely, which made Zhu Gang realize belatedly and look at Zhu Yunwen.

But when he saw Zhu Yunwen looking around, he immediately said awkwardly:

"Nephew, what this guy said can't be true..."

It was simply a fantasy for Zhu Gang that a million-strong army was defeated by eight hundred people.

Zhu Yunwen did not reply, but the guilty feeling he felt immediately made the people around him know the truth.

"Hahaha! Zhu Yuanzhang, even your carefully selected grandson is no good!"

"Eight hundred people? I can't even think about it!"

"This is the first person in history..."

Lan Yu and others mocked Zhu Yuanzhang without restraint, and Zhu Yuanzhang's face was covered with bruises.

Even he himself couldn't believe that Zhu Yunwen couldn't even defeat Zhu Di with 800 men!
"Grandpa Emperor, listen to me. It's true that Fourth Uncle has 800 men, but Gao Xu still has 40,000!"

Zhu Yunwen hurriedly explained. He knew that if he didn't explain, he would definitely not escape a beating today.

"Yes, Dad. No matter what, it is certain that the fourth child will rebel!"

Although Zhu Gang was a little overwhelmed, he could not care less in order to frame Zhu Di.

"Tian De, you are a good son-in-law!"

Chang Yuchun winked at Xu Da, and Xu Da smiled and walked straight towards Empress Xu and Zhu Gaochi.

The father and daughter began to reminisce about the past, but Zhu Di argued because of Zhu Gang's words:

"How could I know Yun Wen was so cruel? I have already handed over the military power of the three commanders and the guards, but he still wants to attack me. If I don't start the war, I will be beheaded!"

As he was talking, Zhu Di simply sold out Zhu Gaoxu and said to Zhu Yuanzhang:
"Dad, you don't know that before you died, Gao Xu asked me to rebel in Wulianghatu City, but I didn't want to rebel, so I handed over the military power later."

"what?!"

When Zhu Di said this, Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Yunwen, Feng Sheng, Fu Youde and other people who were familiar with Zhu Gaoxu all took a deep breath.

If he had really done what Zhu Gaoxu said, Zhu Di would have been able to lead an army of more than 200,000 across the Great Wall and reach Jianghuai before Zhu Yuanzhang died.

"Okay, okay...you and your son are doing very well!"

Zhu Gang gritted his teeth and said, "They are cut from the same cloth, born traitors!"

"Grandpa, look!" Zhu Yunwen looked at Zhu Yuanzhang aggrievedly, and Zhu Yuanzhang said in a deep voice in front of everyone:

"Then why don't you listen to him?"

"Of course I didn't listen... huh?"

Zhu Di suddenly reacted and looked at Old Zhu in disbelief.

In addition to him, Zhu Biao and others also looked at Old Zhu as if they had seen a ghost.

In front of them, Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly: "If you listen to that kid, maybe there won't be so many problems, and the national strength of the Ming Dynasty will be even stronger!"

Zhu Yuanzhang knew the consequences of the Jingnan Campaign on the Ming Dynasty through Zhu Yunwen and others. If Zhu Di had listened to Zhu Gaoxu earlier, perhaps things would have been much better.

"Um... this... I..."

"What are you hemming and hawing about!"

Zhu Di hesitated, but Old Zhu interrupted him directly: "Look at how timid you are. Without Gao Xu, can you conquer such a large territory? Can you govern the country well?"

"It was Gao Xu who provided the power, and you are the one who sat on the throne. Now you are slandering your own son. Get away from me!"

Zhu Yuanzhang attacked, but there was no actual damage. On the contrary, Zhu Di felt much safer after hearing this, and quickly said:

"Dad, you know I have a kind nature, so I never thought of taking action against Yunwen. I was thinking of assisting Yunwen and governing the Ming Dynasty well after clearing the court of evil officials."

"Who would have thought that Yunwen was so timid that Gao Xu surrounded the city of Nanjing, and Yunwen set himself on fire."

"When I learned that Yunwen had died, I cried my heart out. I was planning to support Yunxun, but Gao Xu led his people to force me to become the emperor."

"After I became emperor, I treated Yunwen and his family very well. Even Yunwen's son, my nephew, is alive and well."

As he was talking, Zhu Di looked at Zhu Biao and said, "Brother, I really have done nothing wrong to you..."

"Oh, then I have to thank you." Zhu Biao's face was calm, but he felt relieved in his heart.

He thought he would have no descendants, but fortunately, Zhu Di and his son were not so ruthless.

But when he thought about it, Zhu Biao thought of Zhu Yunwen who took things to extremes, and he couldn't help but get angry.

He reached out and grabbed Zhu Yunwen: "Come with me, kid!"

"Ah?" Zhu Yunwen was dragged away unexpectedly, and Zhu Gang couldn't keep a straight face, so he could only stand aside and wait for Old Zhu to speak.

"Dad, you don't know, after I took the throne, I worked day and night, and often woke up from dreams, dreaming that you said I was not serious about being an emperor."

"I personally led four expeditions to the northern desert, captured Bayanchur, a descendant of the Yuan dynasty, invented the locomotive, stationed troops and established a government, and realized the first direct rule of the Han dynasty over the two desert regions."

"I personally led an expedition to the Western Regions, destroyed Yilibali in the Western Regions, expanded the Han territory to the eastern part of Talas, which was once the Tang Dynasty, and established the three military governors of Beiting, Hexi, and Anxi."

"I commanded Zheng He to sail to the Western Ocean, set up Xuanwei Offices in Dongzhou, Beizhou, Kunlunzhou and Nanzhou, destroyed Luchuan, sent troops to Persia, and subdued Japan, Siam and other countries."

"The Japanese pirates are gone from the sea, the country is peaceful and prosperous, and the borders are extremely stable. Many former Mongolian khanates have jointly presented me as Eyel Zasak Khan, the common leader of the Mongols."

"Of course, I am the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the emperor of the Han people. It is a bit of a demotion to be a Mongolian leader, but my Ming Dynasty is the leader of the world after all. The Mongols don't know what an emperor is, so I have no choice but to be their Khan."

Zhu Di looked somewhat helpless, and that expression made Zhu Gang feel really bad.

However, when Zhu Yuanzhang heard that all of Mongolia had surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, he couldn't help but think of the arrogant looks of Temujin and Kublai Khan, and felt a little relieved.

However, he was a little arrogant and didn't want Zhu Di to know that he was very happy, so he snorted coldly: "You are self-aware."

"That's right... I have always been self-aware." Zhu Di smiled.

"It's only because of Gao Xu, otherwise I don't know what the Ming Dynasty would be like under your rule. As the Son of Heaven, you personally led the army... Humph!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was teaching Zhu Di a lesson, but for Zhu Di, as long as he was not punished, being verbally scolded was no big deal.

"Okay, wait for the Emperor's gathering in four years, and you can follow me to broaden your horizons."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the lands of past dynasties in the sky and couldn't help feeling a little secretly happy.

What about Qin, Han, Sui, Tang, Song and Yuan dynasties? Do you really think that our Ming Dynasty will perish in the second generation?

"Dad, what kind of emperor's party is this?"

"I'll let Yunwen talk to you later. By the way...where is Yunwen?"

Zhu Yuanzhang reacted and looked around, but he didn't see Zhu Yunwen, and he was annoyed:

"That brat lied to me and even dared to run away and hide. I'm going to give him a couple of slaps next time I see him!"

"Uh-huh!!"

While Zhu Yuanzhang was thinking about it, Zhu Biao had already taken action and beat Zhu Yunwen violently with a leather belt in an alley.

"Who told you to reduce the power of the feudal lords? Who told you to abolish the common people? Who told you to think about cleaning up your fourth uncle's family!"

"Dad! I didn't expect this!" Zhu Yunwen shouted in tears. Zhu Biao got even more angry when he heard this, and his leather belt accidentally slipped out of his hand.

Before Zhu Yunwen could even breathe a sigh of relief, Zhu Biao grabbed him by the collar and yelled:

"Pick up the leather belt!"

(End of this chapter)