Daming: My boss Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 134 The Big Picture
Seeing Zhu Liang's grandfather and son being beaten to pieces, the civil servants were indifferent, and Dao Tong even showed the look he should have. This Zhu Liangzu had done many evil things, and countless people were killed by him. In Dao Tong's opinion, he should be beheaded. Be a warning!
But the military generals are different. The so-called rabbit dies and the fox is sad. They also gained promotions and titles based on their military exploits. Many of them also secretly bullied the people and accepted bribes. They were also arrogant and domineering.

It was Zhu Liangzu who was beaten today, but it might be them tomorrow.

In fact, the reason why Zhu Yuanzhang called Zhu Liangzu to the court to beat him was to show these nobles and give them a warning.

Although he did not want to kill these generals for the time being due to the needs of the overall situation, he also did not want to watch them become more and more arrogant.

At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang kept everyone silent. Only one person dared to speak out, and that was Zhu Yuanzhang's nephew, Cao Guogong Li Wenzhong.

"Your Majesty, we can't fight anymore. Although Marquis Yongjia has made a big mistake, he has also served the country. I hope Your Majesty will forgive him this time because of his outstanding achievements in the military for half his life!"

Facing this scene, Li Wenzhong felt worried and stood up and spoke loudly.

He was very worried that Zhu Liangzu would be beaten to death by the court. Now Zhu Yuanzhang was in a state of rage, and it was inevitable that he would be a little irrational. If the court killed a marquis with great military exploits, it would definitely chill the other generals.

Nowadays, the wars in various parts of the Ming Dynasty have not stopped, and these generals still have to rely on these generals to expand territory and garrison various places.

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and glanced at him displeased. Li Wenzhong was the only one of his relatives in the old Zhu family who had some knowledge. Zhu Yuanzhang also trusted him. The Governor's Office was previously in charge of Li Wenzhong, and later it was split into the Governor of the Five Armies. In the government, Li Wenzhong also held an important position.

But there is a problem with learning, that is, the killing is not decisive enough, and it is not happy at all to look forward and backward.

In this respect, he is somewhat similar to Zhu Biao.

"We punish the guilty officials. What are you doing? Just stand aside!"

Zhu Yuanzhang shouted displeasedly.

Li Wenzhong refused to retreat and continued: "Your Majesty, the border is not stable now. Why not send Marquis Yongjia to the border and give him a chance to make meritorious service!"

"I am willing to die on the battlefield. Your Majesty, please give me a chance!"

Zhu Liangzu shouted while protecting his son, hoping to seize the opportunity.

"Huh, why did you go there earlier? We have given you so many chances. Keep fighting, don't stop!"

"His Majesty……"

"You step back!"

Li Wenzhong wanted to say more, but Zhu Yuanzhang interrupted him with an angry shout.

Seeing that Li Wenzhong had not been favored, the nobles immediately fell silent. Even Xu Datang and these veterans were unwilling to contradict Zhu Yuanzhang at this time.

In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang did not think of beating Zhu Liangzu to death directly, otherwise he would not have used a whip, but a more powerful imperial staff or even beheaded directly.

But if you give him a few whips and let him go, it will definitely not work. He will have to be beaten half to death at least.

Li Wenzhong's remonstrance was fruitless. As time went by, Zhu Liang's grandfather and son's screams became smaller and smaller, and gradually disappeared.

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at the father and son with squinted eyes, and waved his hand until he felt it was almost done.

"Okay, let's all back down!"

The guards then took the order to stop and retreat to the side.

However, after the guards retreated, Zhu Liang's grandfather and son remained silent for a long time, not even twitching.

Everyone present was horrified, and Zhu Yuanzhang was also startled. He immediately flashed his eyes and winked at the guard. The guard hurriedly stepped forward and tried, then bowed and said: "Your Majesty, Zhu Liang's grandfather is angry." Absolutely!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was shocked. His first reaction was that it was impossible. He was making a calculation. He knew that Zhu Liangzu's body would not be beaten to death so easily!
The expressions of all the civil and military ministers present changed drastically. They never expected that such a mighty and powerful military commander, an important minister of the title of Marquis, would be whipped to death by the court!
Even Taoist colleagues who deeply hated this man frowned. It would be fine if His Majesty dragged him out and beheaded him. It would be too cruel for a father and son to be whipped to death in court.

Zhu Yuanzhang keenly felt that this was not normal, and his sharp eyes scanned the guards below who were participating in the flogging. However, these people all looked panicked and did not show much abnormality.

Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but frown deeply. Was it really an accident?

Zhu Liangzu's death was beyond his expectation and was definitely not his intention.

Now the noble generals in the palace all have pale faces, and their hearts are somewhat desolate.

Zhu Yuanzhang also knew what these people were thinking. After calming down, he coldly snorted: "Humph, Zhu Liangzu deceived the emperor, colluded with powerful people to oppress the people, and even almost caused us to unjustly kill a good minister. The result today is his." He deserves it! In view of his outstanding achievements, he should be buried with marquis rites and let his second son ascend to the throne."

Zhu Yuanzhang first reprimanded him for his crimes, established his moral high ground, and finally showed mercy.

"Your Majesty Shengming!"

Although some people still feel sad, as Zhu Yuanzhang said, Zhu Liangzu's death is indeed not unjust.

Li Wenzhong was about to say something but stopped. The matter had come to this, and he didn't know what to say anymore.After the dynasty dispersed, Zhu Yuanzhang hurried back to the Qianqing Palace, dismissed his surroundings, and sat alone on the dragon chair to meditate.

What happened recently was so surprising to him. From the beginning of Daotong to the death of Zhu Liangzu, it seemed reasonable, but he keenly smelled the smell of conspiracy.

If it were not for the variable Li Wei, Daotong would have been destined to be unjustly killed from the beginning. And after unjustly killing a loyal minister, with his behavior, Lei Lei would be furious, and it would be almost inevitable that Zhu Liangzu would be summoned and executed.

Now, due to the appearance of Li Wei, Daoyong was unexpectedly rescued. Although he was equally angry, he had no intention of killing this founding military noble.

But the result of the matter was that Zhu Liangzu was still dead, which shocked him extremely!
After this incident, those generals will definitely have concerns about their future, which is what he least wants to see.

Now his fourth son, Zhu Di, had just joined the vassal state, and his second son, Zhu Fang, and his third son, Zhu Fan, had only been vassal for a few years. It was undoubtedly a foolish dream to replace these generals with vassal kings.

For the time being, the country's war has to rely on these founding heroes, and this is definitely not the time to take advantage of them!
After thinking for a moment, Zhu Yuanzhang loudly shouted to the eunuch waiting outside: "Go and summon Mao Xiang."

"According to the order!"

The eunuch took the order and left quickly.After a long time, Mao Xiang came in a hurry.

"I see you, Your Majesty."

Mao Xiang paid homage respectfully.

"Well, get up. What do you think of what happened in the palace just now?"

Zhu Yuanzhang asked calmly.

Mao Xiang immediately said sternly: "Zhu Liangzu did not listen to your majesty's admonitions and committed many crimes. This time he deceived the emperor and ignored his superiors. The blame for today's consequences is his own. Your majesty was merciful and allowed him to be buried with marquis rites. His second son inherited the title. This is the end of his kindness." , Your Majesty is Holy Ming!"

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at him deeply, and after a moment he nodded slightly.

Then he said in a deep voice: "Even so, whipping him was not our original intention. In this case, you can interrogate the guards who whipped him to see who accidentally killed him!"

When Mao Xiang heard this, he was immediately shocked. Although Zhu Yuanzhang was asking who made the mistake, he clearly meant that he suspected someone had done it deliberately. It seemed that the matter was not that simple.

"The minister obeys the order!"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded lightly, paused, then narrowed his eyes and asked an irrelevant question: "What is Li Shanchang doing recently?"

Mao Xiang was stunned for a moment, not understanding what he meant, but he immediately replied: "Your Majesty, the Korean prince has been in Haozhou since he returned to his home, and is responsible for managing the migrating people and building palaces in accordance with your Majesty's orders. "

Zhu Yuanzhang fell silent after hearing this. In the Ming Dynasty, regardless of the generals, among the civil servants, there were only two people who could make Zhu Yuanzhang fearful. One was the dead Liu Bowen, and the other was Li Shanchang!
In terms of talent and intelligence, Liu Bowen is the well-deserved leader, but when it comes to power and strategy, Liu Bowen is not good enough. He was easily manipulated by him, and finally ended up miserable.

Although Li Shanchang was slightly less intelligent than Liu Bowen, his power and tactics were more than one step ahead of Liu Bowen's, and he had great influence in both civil and military circles.

He tried to support the East Zhejiang Party headed by Liu Bowen, and tried to check and balance the Huaixi nobles headed by Li Shanchang, but the final result was the victory of Huaixi.

Although he forcibly drove Li Shanchang back to his hometown, and used Liu Bowen's death and other arrangements to kill Hu Weiyong, who replaced Li Shanchang in charge of Huaixi, the matter would not be over as long as Li Shanchang was not dead.

Li Shanchang was not like an arrogant and domineering general like Zhu Liangzu. He acted cautiously and made no serious mistakes, so he could not be punished without guilt.

"Well, you sent someone to keep an eye on him. We recorded all the people he came in contact with, every word and deed!"

After a long silence, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered in a deep voice. Although this matter seemed to be a coincidence, and it was even less likely to be related to Li Shanchang, who was retiring in his hometown, he was still suspicious.

Hearing this, Mao Xiang felt faintly happy. As a personal guard, it was his duty to eradicate dissidents for His Majesty. This was an opportunity for him to make meritorious deeds.

"Yes! This subordinate obeys the order!"

Mao Xiang immediately responded respectfully.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded with satisfaction, but his heart was still full of worries.

In fact, except for Li Shanchang, he had a bigger worry that he had never told anyone.

Since the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, he had vaguely felt that there seemed to be an unknown force controlling the general trend of the world.

At one time, he suspected that it was the remnants of the White Lotus Sect, but later he realized that it was not the case. These people were pretending to be gods and mischief. Although they had a way of causing trouble, it was unlikely that they would be a big deal. Otherwise, he would not be allowed to pick the fruit.

After that, he turned his attention to the gentry group. If he could establish a country, these gentry groups played a big role. It is not impossible to say that these people secretly influence the general trend of the world.

After the Ming Dynasty stabilized in these years, he massacred civil servants and implicated many wealthy gentry. In addition to punishing corruption and seeking benefits, he also had the intention of attacking this secret force.

However, after killing so many people, he found that it seemed to be of no use. This dark power still existed. He still doesn't know who this power is, or is it just his illusion?
　The twist is difficult to write, and the author is a newbie trying it for the first time. Please forgive me.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)