Ming Dynasty: The ghost betrays the Confucian sage, my son Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 204 Zhu Yuanzhang: Dad, are you playing this big?
In Beiping City, the cold wind is biting.

The defenders all put on brand new winter clothes, and their mental outlook was completely new. Although it's still cold when standing guard, at least I don't shiver anymore. The food is good these days, which makes it less difficult for soldiers from the south.

In the city, in the palace hall.

Zhu Yuanzhang was reading the intelligence sent by Jinyiwei. It came from Yingchang City. Mao Xiang, the commander of Jinyiwei, sent it immediately. He knew that His Majesty was worried about Fourth Master Zhu and King Yan.

"Is this... such a big deal?" Zhu Yuanzhang looked at it, with light shining in his eyes.
Mao Xiang was curious, what was written in this letter that made His Majesty so excited? Fourth Master Zhu is doing a lot of work in Yingchang City? However, it's not surprising that there is no job that Fourth Master can't handle.

"Quickly, let's pass it on to the future for discussion." Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand.

He looked excited and read the contents of the letter carefully. The more he read, the more excited he became. He secretly praised in his heart, our father knows how to play, and according to this plan, we can definitely win Yingchang City by working together internally and externally.

Soon, all the generals entered the hall, and some of them still had frost on their armor. Zhu Yuanzhang glanced over and said excitedly: "Everyone, the opportunity to capture Yingchang City has come."

Xu Da raised his forehead and thought, Your Majesty, have you not given up on dealing with Changcheng yet? Didn’t you take your medicine again today? He bowed and said, "Your Majesty, what are you trying to do? Your Majesty, I'm sorry for being rude. Don't give random orders. We will definitely capture Yingchang City."

Zhu Yuanzhang: "!!!"

Fourth Master Zhu reached out to hug her, preparing to reward her heavily. At this time, an announcement came from outside: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!"

"Why don't you go and receive the prince soon?" Wen'er glared at him and went back to the room.

……

"Come on, come on, I just need your help with something." Fourth Master Zhu smiled and pointed to the packages on the table, "Help me dye my hair again."

After an hour of busy work, the hair dyeing was finally completed. Fourth Master Zhu stood in front of the mirror, admiring his new image with satisfaction: "Oh my, he is so handsome! Huner, you really found a treasure. There are very few handsome men like me in the world."

Yingchang City.

Fourth Master Zhu returned to his mansion with a few bags of things. He didn't see Zhu Di, so he wasn't worried, because Zhu Di was prospering in Yingchang City, leading a group of grassland aristocratic teenagers to run rampant.

He handed the spy in his hand to Xu Da angrily. Xu Da took it and glanced at it, casually at first, then looked at it with a look of astonishment on his face: "Is this true? Fourth Master...he can play."

"See His Highness the Crown Prince." Fourth Master Zhu stepped forward and saluted.

"Doesn't this make you look younger? When you walk with me on the street from now on, you can't let people mistakenly think that you are hooked up with a rich man, right?" Fourth Master Zhu explained half-jokingly.

Emperor Yuan indulged himself in sensuality and entrusted the prince with the important task of supervising the country. This prince is no ordinary person. He teamed up with his mother, Queen Qi, and gradually emptied the Yuan Emperor's real power. If it weren't for the King of Qi to check and balance in the court, Emperor Yuan might have been forced to abdicate.

……

Before he even stepped out of the garden gate, he saw a group of people walking in. The leader is a young man with extraordinary temperament. He is the crown prince of the Northern Yuan Dynasty: Bo'er Jijin Aiyou Shili Tara, the son of Empress Qi.

"Why dye it black again?" Weier blinked, a little confused.

Next to the prince, stood an imposing middle-aged man, who turned out to be Ghost Wolf Temujin.

Fourth Master Zhu frowned slightly and stood up to greet the prince. He was wondering, why is the prince here? Could it be that you discovered the adultery between my husband and his mother? That old man was wronged and hasn’t done anything yet.

When Wen'er heard this, she couldn't help but roll her eyes, but she couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth, revealing a knowing smile.

"Cruel old man, what have you been busy with recently?" Wener walked out of the room and asked curiously.

Although Weier didn't quite understand the meaning of "sugar daddy", she also felt that dyeing it black would indeed make her look more handsome. So, she readily agreed to Fourth Master Zhu's request. While Fourth Master Zhu was enjoying the process of dyeing his hair, he secretly thought that he might be able to open a hair dye shop in the capital in the future, and his business would definitely be prosperous.

The generals came over curiously. After reading the intelligence, they were excited and high-spirited to fight.

Moreover, with Zhu Di's current attire, let alone recognizing him as the prince of the Ming Dynasty, it is impossible to recognize him as a young man from the Central Plains. He is dark and handsome, dressed in prairie clothes, and looks like a handsome boy from the prairie.

"Tang Aiqing, no courtesy." The prince's voice was cold, "The queen mother once said that she had acquired a rare talent, and I came here to see him."

"Your Highness, please." Fourth Master Zhu made a respectful gesture of invitation and led the prince and Ghost Wolf Temujin into the living room. When a maid came up to serve tea, he secretly muttered in his heart: Isn't this prince here to challenge the emperor? The relationship between Queen Mother and I is innocent, at least so far.

"My dear, the situation is complicated now. I hope you can give me more help." The prince sighed softly, "You are from the Central Plains, so your understanding of the Central Plains will naturally be deeper."

"I will do my best." Master Zhu smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Our Dayuan has now retreated to the grassland. What is your plan to break the situation?" The prince asked with a smile, with a hint of comparison in his eyes.

Fourth Master Zhu thought to himself: This is to test my ability. Forget it, I will give you a satisfactory answer and win your trust first. In his previous life, he had read "History of the Ming Dynasty" thoroughly and had a good understanding of what the prince had done. After the prince ascended the throne, he indeed adopted a series of strategies to compete with the Ming Dynasty, but in the end he could not escape the fate of failure. "Your Highness, the power of the Ming Dynasty is now at its peak, and it is difficult to defeat it." Fourth Master Zhu analyzed calmly, "However, there is no way to break the situation. Internally, we urgently need to deepen reforms and rectify the political agenda to consolidate the foundation. Externally, we should actively contact the King of Liang in Yunnan and form a strong alliance with Goryeo. In this way, the three parties can join forces to encircle the Ming Dynasty. "

The prince was shocked when he heard this, because what Fourth Master Zhu said coincided with what he was thinking. However, now that the three forces within the imperial court are fighting endlessly, he has never been able to find an opportunity to implement this strategy. His eyes showed deep praise for Fourth Master Zhu: "Ai Qing is really a pillar of talent, and the queen mother is not wrong about the person."

A thought suddenly came to Mr. Zhu's mind: If he kills the prince now, will things develop differently later? But as soon as the thought flashed across his mind, he rejected it. Killing a Prince of Beiyuan would not have much effect on the overall situation.

Therefore, he sincerely expressed: "I am willing to do my best to serve His Highness until death."

After hearing this, the prince stood up happily and said: "Very good! You will come to Gu's East Palace someday and have in-depth exchanges and plans with Gu. Of course, for now, your main task is to assist the mother and queen."

"I obey the order." Fourth Master Zhu nodded in agreement.

He smiled secretly in his heart, don't worry, I will take good care of your mother and keep her full.

The prince left with satisfaction. The silent wolf Temujin looked at Master Zhu fiercely before leaving, as if to warn him.

Fourth Master Zhu frowned.

Ghost Wolf Temujin? Find an opportunity to kill him first.

……

The capital of the Ming Dynasty.

It is already winter, and the cold wind is howling. However, Queen Ma still insisted on inspecting the Ming Dynasty Textile Factory and was rushing a batch of silk. The Ming Trading Company would go overseas again in the next year.

She discussed next year's plans with Shen Wansan in detail. Shen Wansan admired this queen very much, so he knew everything about Queen Ma.

"Your Majesty, if the court still needs a sum of food and salary after the year, Daming Trading Company can support it." Shen Wansan said.

"Think of it as borrowed by the imperial court from you, and it will be removed from the royal palace's share in the future." Empress Ma sighed softly, "The soldiers and horses will go ahead before the food and grass are used. Alas, if there is a war, the imperial court's finances will have to fill it for several years. "

"Your Majesty also wants to ensure the stability of the Ming Dynasty for future generations." Shen Wansan said.

"Thank you for your understanding." Queen Ma nodded slightly.

"Your Majesty, you're welcome. My master has told me to help the court," Shen Wansan said.

Empress Ma smiled slightly and explained some more before leaving and returning to the palace. Instead of returning to Kunning Palace, she went to the East Palace first, where Prince Zhu Biao was studying.

"My son, please see your mother." Zhu Biao bowed.

"Biao'er, has the Chang family entered the palace today?" Queen Ma smiled, "That was the baby marriage your father had arranged with General Chang Yuchun back then. The Chang family is also about the same age as you. Wait until after the New Year , after your father returns to court after victory, it’s time to prepare for your marriage.”

"The palace took Ms. Chang to your mother's Kunning Palace early in the morning. It's not convenient for me to meet her now." Zhu Biao smiled, "Of course, the parents make the decision about marriage. Children and ministers listen to you."

He knew in his heart that he married Chang as the crown princess in order to stabilize the noble military commander. After all, the generals of the Manchu Dynasty were either brought out by Xu Da or Chang Yuchun.

"Okay, then I'll make the decision." Empress Ma sighed softly, "Chang Yuchun is gone, we can't wrong her daughter. Chang will definitely make her the crown princess. Biao'er, you also have to choose a concubine. .”

Zhu Biao's face turned slightly red and he bowed, "All sons obey their mothers."

Empress Ma already had a candidate in mind and smiled loudly: "The Minister of Household Affairs is also your Mr. Donggong, Lu Ben. I heard that his daughter is a talented girl, gentle and virtuous. I think it will work."

Zhu Biao's eyes lit up. He had met Lu once before and remembered the girl's appearance. He nodded quickly: "Then choose her to be your concubine."

Queen Ma came specifically to ask Zhu Biao for his opinion. Seeing that he had no objection, she got up and returned to Kunning Palace. As soon as I entered the door, I saw a woman in fancy clothes teaching the palace maids how to box.

"She is really a tiger girl." Queen Ma walked over with a smile.

When the well-dressed woman saw her, she immediately knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to the Queen."

Empress Ma smiled with satisfaction and raised her hand: "Get up. From now on, in my Kunning Palace, you don't have to kneel down frequently. If you don't find it annoying, I still find it annoying."

"Okay, I don't like kneeling either." Chang blurted out.

The more Empress Ma looked at it, the more she liked it, thinking that she was still an outspoken girl.

(End of this chapter)