Rebirth of Zhu Di's son

Chapter 153 Chen Zuyi regains his life

a few days later.

At seven o'clock in the morning, Jinling Changke Academy.

Under the pavilion on the back mountain.

Zhu Gaoxu was drinking tea alone. Zhao Junchen and Wei Xian were guarding not far away, and dozens of Chunhe Palace guards were hidden in the surrounding woods.

"Your Highness, the minister has brought someone here."

Zheng He led a man with a thorn stick on his back and his hands tied to the pavilion.

The man walked to a place twenty steps away from Zhu Gaoxu and knelt down.

Zhu Gaoxu turned his head slightly and glanced at Zhao Junchen and Wei Xian next to him.

So, Zhao and Wei followed Zheng He and retreated a hundred steps away.

Zhu Gaoxu said to the man kneeling on the ground: "Chen Zuyi, what else do you have to say?"

"A good man is responsible for all his work. If His Highness the Crown Prince can agree to the common people's request, the common people are willing to die to apologize."

The kneeling man was Chen Zuyi, the Nanyang robber captured by Zheng He.

Zhu Gaoxu asked: "What is the request?"

"The common people have killed countless people over the years. They are full of evil and notorious, and they have caused harm to Southeast Asia. Even if Your Highness cuts me to pieces, I still deserve it. But please, Your Highness, let my brothers live."

Chen Zuyi touched his forehead to the ground and said respectfully.

Zhu Gaoxu felt that if Chen Zuyi really thought so, his conscience would still be intact.

"To be honest, the grassroots and the brothers were also good subjects at the beginning. They were trapped by the ban on the sea and had no choice but to raise their heads and beg for food. In recent years, the grassroots have indeed done many evil things. Your Highness, can you see that there is a reason for everything? For the sake of banning the sea, do you want to put all the accounts on the common people?"

When Chen Zuyi saw that Zhu Gaoxu didn't respond, he didn't dare to raise his head, and then said: "I hope that His Highness can select some of them who are not dead to join the Ming Dynasty fleet."

"Why?" Zhu Gaoxu asked in a low voice.

Chen Zuyi said respectfully: "Firstly, their sailing experience can be used to contribute to the Ming Dynasty's overseas patrols. Secondly, their submission and the heads of ordinary people can be used to wash away the bad name of the Ming pirates. Thirdly, if His Highness can handle it like this, It will also give a warning and comfort to the coastal subjects who have suffered from the sea ban for decades.”

Zhu Gaoxu discovered that Chen Zuyi was a talent.

But unfortunately, he knew that this person was cruel and ruthless, so he would never be moved by these words and chose to be merciful.

"I will ask my father to deal with these people appropriately and punish them as appropriate."

Looking at Chen Zuyi who touched his head to the ground, Zhu Gaoxu said in a deep voice.

"Now His Majesty and the Crown Prince have the world in mind and treat their people well, which is greatly admired by the common people."

Chen Zuyi kowtowed.

Zhu Gaoxu said expressionlessly: "Chen Zuyi is a Nanyang thief and must die. Do you have any last words?"

Chen Zuyi thought for a moment, then suddenly raised his head slightly, looked at Zhu Gaoxu with admiration, and said respectfully: "In the past two years, the Ming Dynasty has been traveling to the West and treated all nations with courtesy. The common people only regret that they were born ten years earlier and that they could not contribute to the founding of the Yongle Dynasty. The strategy of the sea is the work of dogs and horses!"

"Is that all?" Zhu Gaoxu asked coldly.

Chen Zuyi could not guess what Zhu Gaoxu was thinking, so he hesitated for a while and said respectfully: "Caomin is 37 years old this year. His wife, children, and children all died at sea. Currently, there is only one seven-year-old only son left who is fostered in a friend's home in Managa. If you want to say your last words , the common people want to tell their only son that he will no longer be a pirate when he grows up, but that he will come to his homeland of China and serve the Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Gaoxu said: "I can save you from death, but there is a condition."

Having said this, he stood up and walked to Chen Zuyi. After squatting down, he whispered: "You can no longer act in the name of Chen Zuyi, let alone recognize your only son and old friend. Once the news is leaked, you know the consequences. "

"Grass people, grass people, grass people, thank His Highness the Crown Prince for your great kindness!"

Chen Zuyi was excited and incoherent, and kowtowed again: "The common people are willing to do everything they can for His Highness!"

Zhu Gaoxu said: "I don't want you to be an ox or a horse, I want you to be a Japanese pirate. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Japanese pirates?"

Chen Zuyi pondered: "Your Highness, you mean to let ordinary people serve as hidden agents among the Japanese pirates, so as to contribute to the eradication of Japanese pirates in the future?"

Zhu Gaoxu neither said yes nor no, but stood up, stood with his hands behind his hands, and shouted loudly: "Zhao Junchen?"

After almost a few breaths, Zhao Junchen ran to the pavilion at super speed, bowed and saluted Zhu Gaoxu and said, "I am here to serve you."

"Go and send someone to spread the news, saying that the Nanyang thief Chen Zuyi tried to escape while being secretly escorted to prison, but was killed on the spot by officers and soldiers."

Zhu Gaoxu ordered.

"Humble job knows what to do."

Zhao Junchen cupped his fists and said.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "We must let the people in the capital see Chen Zuyi's body and believe that he is completely dead."

"Understandable."

Zhao Junchen said respectfully.

Zhu Gaoxu waved his hand and said, "Go and do it."

"I resign from my humble position." Zhao Junchen bowed.

Zhu Gaoxu watched Zhao Junchen leave, then helped Chen Zuyi up and said in a deep voice: "From now on, you will call Yagyu Jungle. As for your appearance and voice, someone will take you to deal with it."

"Yes." Chen Zuyi bowed.

"Wei Xian?" Zhu Gaoxu turned his head and shouted into the distance.

Wei Xian quickly ran over, clasped his fists and saluted, "I'm here to serve you."

Zhu Gaoxu ordered: "With my warrant, send this person to Huimin Medical Center and let Jiang Yongwen deal with his appearance and voice."

"As ordered." Wei Xian bowed and saluted.

The next day.

After the sun goes down.

Hall of Martial Arts.

"Your Majesty, Wang Jinghong would like to see you."

Li Xing bowed and entered the hall to report.

Zhu Di put down the memorial in his hand, a trace of doubt flashed in his eyes, and said, "See you."

"Wei Chen greets His Majesty."

Wang Jinghong bowed and saluted.

Zhu Di said: "No courtesy."

Then, he looked at Wang Jinghong and asked curiously: "Yesterday, the Nanyang pirate Chen Zuyi tried to escape and was killed by officers and soldiers. I have reprimanded Zheng He for lax supervision, and it has nothing to do with you. Why are you doing this? Do you have something to say? Want to say something?"

"Wei Chen does have something to say, but -"

Wang Jinghong hesitated to speak many times.

Zhu Di said: "I sent you as Zheng He's deputy to entrust you with a heavy responsibility. You should understand my thoughts."

Wang Jinghong knelt down and said, "This servant is so heartbroken, I swear to the death to live up to the emperor's grace."

"I know your loyalty, so get up and speak." Zhu Di said.

"As ordered."

Wang Jinghong said respectfully first, then stood up and then whispered: "Your Majesty, I often hear sailors talking privately at sea, saying that Your Majesty is the monarch on land, and Zheng He -" He paused deliberately After a moment, he continued: "He is the emperor of the sea."

When Zhu Di heard this, he chose silence.

He had watched Zheng He grow up and knew Zheng He's character very well. It was impossible for him to believe that Zheng He had disobedient intentions.

Wang Jinghong continued: "According to my observation, those overseas countries only knew about Zheng He, but not about His Majesty. The foreign natives were crude and ignorant, but they didn't know how to repay Your Majesty, so they carved stones and erected monuments for Zheng He on the island. Be grateful."

"Wei Chen also heard that some foreign countries wanted to build a Three Treasures Temple and a Three Treasures Pagoda for Zheng He. They also had to build a [-]-foot-tall golden body for him and place it in the temple, where he would burn incense and offer sacrifices day and night, from generation to generation. "

Wang Jinghong knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, it's not just that he offends the power of Heaven, but he also uses the gods to suppress your father. What kind of behavior is this?"

Having said this, he took out a secret letter from his arms and respectfully presented it to Zhu Di.

Zhu Di took the secret letter and after reading it, his face became terrifyingly gloomy.

"Understood, you step back."

After Wang Jinghong left, Zhu Di said to Li Xing outside the palace gate: "Go and tell Zheng He to come and see you."

After about two quarters of an hour.

Zhu Di heard the sound of footsteps and knew that Zheng He had come in.

He did not look back, but stood with his hands behind his hands, looking at the new sea cruise route map, and said solemnly: "Zheng He, I am looking at your sea map. This map is much larger than when you first went to sea. It can be seen that the sea is much larger than the land.”

Under the dim candlelight, Zheng He found that Zhu Di was looking at the sea chart with his back to him.

"Your Majesty, the farther I sail on the sea, the more boundless the world becomes. The more places I experience, the more boundless the world becomes."

Zheng He said respectfully: "Wei Chen just feels that life is short and cannot know what will happen."

Zhu Di turned around, looked at Zheng He who was holding a glass-covered revolving lantern, and said expressionlessly: "Some people say that the earth belongs to me, and the four seas belong to Zheng He. I am the monarch of the Ming Dynasty on land, and you, Zheng He, are the emperor of the sea. This Have you heard of it?"

Zheng He immediately put down the revolving lantern, and at the same time knelt down and bowed his head and said: "Your Majesty, I don't dare! If I hear such treacherous and unethical words, I will definitely cut this person into pieces."

Zhu Di threw the secret letter in his hand on the ground in front of Zheng He's knees.

Zheng He picked up the secret letter and read it carefully.

This secret letter is a private letter written in Chen Zuyi's tone to Zheng He.

Chen Zuyi said in the letter that Borneo is an excellent treasure land, and asked Zheng He to lead his fleet to join him as soon as possible. The two of them joined forces to establish a country in Borneo, and since then they have been separated from the jurisdiction of the imperial court and have become a loner and domineering in Southeast Asia.

Zheng He held the secret letter and said in shock: "Your Majesty, where did this letter come from?"

"You don't know?" Zhu Di asked.

Zheng He replied: "I don't know."

Zhu Di asked again: "Never seen it before?"

Zheng He replied: "I have never seen it."

Zhu Di said: "It didn't float over from the sea, it was brought back by your fleet."

"Your Majesty, this must be the treacherous plot of the pirate Chen Zuyi. This thief is spreading rumors everywhere, saying that he wants to establish a country of Chinese people in Nanyang, in an attempt to win over overseas Chinese people and dominate Nanyang."

Zheng He quickly explained: "The fleet led by Wei Chen is his natural enemy. For this reason, he resorted to despicable means to alienate Wei Chen and the court."

"Chen Zuyi is dead, is it still clear?" Zhu Di asked.

Zheng He said: "Your Majesty, Wei Chen just thinks it's strange why Wei Chen was given such a bad name just after Chen Zuyi's death. It's hard for Wei Chen to defend himself."

Zhu Di said: "Some people say that they only know about Zheng He on the sea, but they don't know about the Ming Emperor."

"Your Majesty, the ministers who visited various countries acted as envoys of the Ming Dynasty, treated each country with courtesy and rewarded foreigners on Your Majesty's behalf. They never dared to take the merits of heaven for themselves. The accompanying guards and the navigation log can all prove it."

Zheng He said respectfully: "I am loyal to Your Majesty, and heaven and earth can learn from it!"

After Zhu Di listened to Zheng He's self-defense, he was silent for a long time.

"Hahahahaha, Chen Zuyi is dead, my words are the final word."

Zheng He was confused by Zhu Di's laughter.

At this time, Zhu Di pulled up the kneeling Zheng He, looked into his eyes, and asked in a low voice: "Don't you want to ask me who reported you to me?"

Zheng He said: "I can't stop the villain's mouth, I just want to clear my heart. The only thing I am good at is that I privately pardoned the pirates under Chen Zuyi's command and drove them out of Nanyang. I ask your Majesty to punish them."

"Since they can't bring trouble to Nanyang, why not let them go overseas to fend for themselves?"

Zhu Di said: "Although they are not my ministers, they are descendants of Yan and Huang after all."

"Your Majesty is merciful!" Zheng He bowed.

At this moment, Zhu Di snatched the secret letter from Zheng He and tore it into pieces in front of the latter.

"Don't trust those who employ you, and don't trust those who doubt you. You are my arms, and even more so my hope. If I can't even trust you, wouldn't it mean that I have become a loner?"

Zheng He said: "I visited various countries on your Majesty's order, and I felt a lot about what I saw and heard. Compared with the Ming Dynasty, the overseas countries are still like stars over the moon. They all look up to the Ming Dynasty. I deeply feel that the Ming Dynasty is the most prosperous country in the world." The honor of the envoys. What they fear is not the humble minister, but His Majesty, the wealth and broadmindedness of my Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Di walked to sit down on the chair next to him, and then said: "Zheng He, our monarchs and ministers are together again. From the day you went to the sea, our life has been difficult. It is not easy for you at sea, and it is not easy for me on land. Easy. To achieve such brilliant results, my hard work has finally been in vain."

"It's a pity that I didn't bring back more money for Your Majesty this time."

Zheng He said respectfully.

Zhu Di said: "No, what you brought back to me is national prestige. I will have money. With money, I can build a new capital and get rid of constraints."

"I brought a gift to His Majesty when I came this time."

Zheng He picked up the glass-covered revolving lantern on the ground, bowed and said, "Wei Chen has brought a sea to your majesty."

"Is this little revolving lantern the sea?"

Zhu Di asked with a smile.

Zheng He said: "Your Majesty, please put out all the candles in the palace."

As he spoke, he used a fire starter to light the candles in the revolving lantern.

Zhu Di shouted to Li Xing who was standing outside the palace: "Li Xing, do you hear me?"

So Li Xing took several chamberlains and put out all the candles in the palace.

In ancient times, the revolving lantern was known as the Pan Chi lantern (Qin and Han Dynasties), Xianyin candle, Zhuanlu lantern (Tang Dynasty), and Maqi lantern (Song Dynasty). It is a characteristic handicraft of the Chinese ethnic group and one of the traditional festival toys. It is a type of lantern and is commonly seen in Festivals such as Lantern Festival, Lantern Festival, and Mid-Autumn Festival.

A candle is lit in the lamp, and the heat generated by the candle causes airflow, causing the wheel axis to rotate.

There is a paper cut on the wheel axis, and the candlelight projects the shadow of the paper cut on the screen, and the image moves continuously.

Because there are many pictures of ancient military commanders riding horses on each side of the lamp, and when the lamp turns, it looks like several people are chasing each other, so it is called the revolving lantern.

The old-style revolving lantern used the heat generated by fire candles to create airflow and rotate the axle, while the glass-covered revolving lantern brought by Zheng He used clockwork to provide power.

The candlelight of the old revolving lantern projects the shadow of the paper-cut on the wheel axis on the outer screen of the lantern. The revolving lantern brought by Zheng He uses the candlelight to project the shadow of the paper-cut on the wheel axis through the glass into the entire hall, just like a projector, projecting the fish. The shadow of the paper cutout expanded many times.

Looking at the fish shadows swimming in the hall, Zhu Di was deeply shocked.

"I have been sailing at sea for more than two years. I have seen sights I have never seen before on the sea, set foot on places that no one has ever set foot on, and experienced glory that I have never imagined."

Zheng He said respectfully: "After I came back, under the inspiration of His Majesty the Crown Prince, I specially made this fish lantern and presented it to His Majesty."

"When I was young, I asked King Wuning (Xuda) of Zhongshan what the sea was. King Wuning said that the sea is a dream, a boundless dream. Now I see this sea of ​​fish shadows you gave me. , it feels like you are in the sea!”

Zhu Di said with emotion.

(End of this chapter)