Ming Dynasty: Zhu Biao's younger brother, the most rebellious son in history

Chapter 113: Who can compete with Li Shanchang when he appears?

Back then, in order to commend Li Shanchang's achievements, Zhu Yuanzhang allowed him to sit on a chair during court meetings and not have to bow. This was the first and only person to enjoy this treatment after Zhu Yuanzhang founded the country. But now Zhu Yuanzhang still calls Li Shanchang Mr., and Li Shanchang dares not refuse to bow.

But according to Wang Guangyang's understanding of Zhu Yuanzhang and Li Shanchang, it was definitely Li Shanchang's idea for him to suddenly kneel down to Zhu Yuanzhang. He was using his attitude to tell all the ministers: I, Li Shanchang, will humble myself and assist Zhu Yuanzhang devoutly. None of you can be my match.

Seeing Li Shanchang's attitude, Zhu Yuanzhang smiled even brighter, and ordered Yuan Qi beside him: "Move a chair for Mr. Li. He can sit in this hall as before."

The king and his subjects, one submits, the other exalts...

The two of them fought back and forth, instantly bringing the atmosphere in the court to its peak.

Everyone in the court couldn't help but think in their hearts: the former Zhu Yuanzhang and Li Shanchang are back, and they are now shrouded in their shadows.

While delivering the chair to Li Shanchang, Zhu Yuanzhang also mentioned Li Shanchang's appointment and dismissal: "From now on, Li Shanchang will be the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty."

It was just a simple sentence "Li Shanchang is the prime minister", and no other responsibilities were specified.

As for whether Li Shanchang was in charge of the Secretariat, the Chancellery, or the Ministry of Personnel, none of this was mentioned. Li Shanchang was just made prime minister.

But how does one become the prime minister?
Zhu Yuanzhang didn't say it clearly, which made people think a lot.

However, no one was concerned about what position Zhu Yuanzhang had assigned to Li Shanchang, as they had more important things to do.

Zhu Kai, the lawless devil of Yingtian Prefecture, actually wanted to dig up the roots of them, the scholars!

This is absolutely intolerable!

Today, Zhu Yuanzhang must make up his mind to abolish Zhu Kai's status as a prince no matter what. Otherwise, with Zhu Kai messing around like this, how can they, the scholars, still have a place to stand in this world?

Of course, the court officials also speculated that Zhu Kai must have the support of Zhu Yuanzhang behind him for doing this. After all, Zhu Yuanzhang was narrow-minded. The Kong family's hypocrisy in the past made Zhu Yuanzhang lose face. Now Zhu Yuanzhang only thought of revenge.

Two words - too much!
You are an emperor now, how can you still be so petty? The Kong family has been passed down for more than 2,000 years and has become a benchmark in the hearts of scholars. How can you overthrow it just because you want to?

"Your Majesty, I have this memorial!"

Xia Jihai, the Imperial Envoy, was the first to step forward and fire at Zhu Kai: "The Second Prince went to Qi and Lu, framed others, and committed all kinds of evil. I have written down the Second Prince's ten major crimes in the memorial. I ask Your Majesty to depose him and demote him to a commoner."

If Zhu Kai was not a prince, he would have been chopped into pieces 3,600 times.

"I also have this memorial!"

When the first person stood up, the second person would stand up, and then the third, the fourth...all of them wanted to punish Zhu Kai.

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he was not surprised at all.

Isn’t this the theme of today’s grand court meeting?
Not surprised, nor panicked.

After everyone finished speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately turned his gaze to Li Shanchang: "Mr. Li, what do you think of the court officials' memorial about the second prince Zhu Kai?"

Whenever you are in doubt, ask Li Shanchang. There is nothing that Li Shanchang cannot do.

This is also the reason why Zhu Yuanzhang arranged Li Shanchang's position before everyone started to submit memorials.

Li Shanchang is already the prime minister, so is it okay for me to ask him if I have any questions?
"I think that the Second Prince's move to expose the Kong family's deep wound is not a bad thing, but a good thing."

Li Shanchang took Zhu Kai's responsibility and said, "In recent days, Kong Xixue, the 55th grandson of Duke Yansheng, has been in Yingtian Prefecture, appearing in the homes of the adults. He came to see me because he heard that I might return to the court."

As he spoke, Li Shanchang turned his gaze to Song Lian.

Mr. Song, now that I have said this, can you please stand up and tell the truth?

Song Lian felt Li Shanchang's gaze. He didn't want to get involved in this matter. After all, Kong Xixue violated his bottom line as a human being.

But a gentleman's word is as good as a whip to a fast horse.

Song Lian agreed to help Kong Xixue from the beginning. As a gentleman and an honest man, he was willing to take responsibility for his past words and deeds.

"Yes."

Song Lian came out to testify for Li Shanchang, "Kong Xixue and I went to see Duke Hanguo."

It was just a meeting, but Song Lian didn't want to say what they talked about.

Li Shanchang did not embarrass Song Lian and said directly: "Kong Xixue was deeply disappointed with his father's behavior when he saw me. He never expected that his father would do such a rebellious thing. He actually allowed his family to contact the Japanese and burn, kill and rob the people. This behavior has violated the family tradition of the Yanshenggong lineage."

These words have confirmed the crimes of the Kong family.

Then, it also explains Li Shanchang's attitude towards this matter from another perspective:

Zhu Kai dealt with the Kong family to eliminate harm to the people. It was not what you imagined. He just wanted to help Zhu Yuanzhang avenge the indifference he suffered back then.

Li Shanchang's attitude naturally aroused the dissatisfaction of the Censorate, and the Imperial Envoy Xia Jihai once again stood up to refute:

"Can……"

He only said one word, and Li Shanchang did not allow him to say the rest: "It will not be too late to discuss this matter after Kong Xixue comes to the court."

Why didn’t Kong Xixue come?
He was ashamed of what his old father had done, so he was writing a confession at home.

As for Kong Xixue's changes to Confucianism, Li Shanchang did not mention it explicitly. He wanted to keep this credit firmly in his own hands!
"Okay, let's listen to Mr. Li."

Zhu Yuanzhang was very satisfied with Li Shanchang's efficiency and said cheerfully: "Even the children of the Kong family feel that what they did was too evil, so why should we help them clear their name?"

"What I mean is, we need to listen to what Kong Xixue has to say and what he thinks his family did wrong, so that we can prescribe the right remedy."

Two words: drag!

The court officials believed that Zhu Yuanzhang and Li Shanchang wanted to drag the matter out until no one wanted to resolve it anymore, but only Zhu Yuanzhang and Li Shanchang knew the answer.

It’s not that they don’t want to deal with the Kong family, but they want to delay it until the Kong family completely changes its style.

Just as Li Shanchang reminded Kong Xixue, the Confucianists were just students under the rule of Zhu Yuanzhang, and the Kong family could not let these students escape from his control.

If they fail to do this, it will be a waste of the good situation that Zhu Kai has created for them in the early stage.

The court officials had a lot to say at this time, but they dared not say a word.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Li Shanchang are both narrow-minded guys. If you go to refute them now, God knows when this pair of monarch and minister will trip you up.

Saving the Confucius family and saving the foundation of Confucianism is indeed a big deal.

But when thinking about their own interests, no one is willing to fall into the pit.

To dig one's own grave, isn't that something only a fool would do? How can we scholars be fools?
The only defender of morality in the court was Song Lian, the Grand Secretary of the Song Dynasty. However, Grand Secretary Song was very dissatisfied with Kong Xixue's behavior of "sacrificing Confucius to protect his father", so he did not stand up to speak at this time.

Everything was within Li Shanchang's expectations.

Today's grand court meeting ended in a whimper, because everyone was only prepared to deal with Zhu Kai. Now this matter has been eliminated by Zhu Yuanzhang and Li Shanchang, the emperor and his minister. Now they are discussing other things... but they are not prepared at all.

Looking around, Zhu Yuanzhang saw that no one was talking, and said with great satisfaction: "Since everyone has nothing to do, today's court meeting will end here, and the court will be dismissed!"

After saying this, Zhu Yuanzhang stood up and left.

Zhu Yuanzhang was very happy when he went to court today. The ministers in the court were thrown into disarray by Li Shanchang's sudden appearance, and Li Shanchang's stern rebuttal made Zhu Yuanzhang sigh in his heart: Old Li is still the best.

What a pity, this old guy was subdued by Zhu Kai. It would be great if he could assist me honestly.

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't tell whether he was envious or jealous now.

Anyway, I feel that this old guy Li Shanchang also knows how to treat people differently.

It's so infuriating.

In the main hall, Li Shanchang walked out slowly.

The others looked at Li Shanchang with eyes full of fear... This old guy was forced to leave by Zhu Yuanzhang, and now he is back and is treated as a guest of honor by Zhu Yuanzhang.

This treatment... is so infuriating!

Before the grand court meeting, all the court officials would lean towards Li Shanchang, hoping to become familiar to him. However, after the grand court meeting, everyone became a little afraid of Li Shanchang.

This old guy... he really has bad intentions.

Li Shanchang didn't care about what others thought and walked slowly out of the hall.

The court officials were not clear about this, but Li Shanchang was very clear about it. Because Zhu Kai had a "gun" in his hand to threaten him, his reappearance in the court was just to serve as a tool.

Others were afraid of him only because they were afraid of his familiarity with Zhu Yuanzhang and his ability to guess Zhu Yuanzhang's thoughts. If Li Shanchang did not have these abilities, he would not have appeared in the court again.

Wang Guangyang came up to Li Shanchang and asked him:
"Duke Hanguo, His Majesty has issued an order, appointing you as Prime Minister. Do you want to go to the Government Affairs Hall today? Get familiar with it?"

"Need not."

Li Shanchang shook his head and said to Wang Guangyang, "You should do it first. I am only the prime minister, and I have not arranged any other positions. How to take over the government affairs in the court will be decided after I figure it out."

To think it through is to conform to Zhu Yuanzhang's ideas.

Li Shanchang probably had figured out why Zhu Yuanzhang only gave him the position of prime minister, but it was still not very clear. He needed to think carefully about what he should do to satisfy Zhu Yuanzhang and maximize his own interests.

After Wang Guangyang left, Song Lian came to Li Shanchang and said directly when he saw Li Shanchang: "Prime Minister Li is Prime Minister Li. He changed the situation in a blink of an eye."

Li Shanchang knew that Song Lian was talking about Kong Xixue's sudden change of mind.

Song Lian was an experienced man and of course he knew that it was Li Shanchang who made Kong Xixue change his mind.

Of course, it was also saying that the attack on Zhu Kai at this grand court meeting came to nothing, all because of Li Shanchang's words.

“I just did what I had to do.”

Li Shanchang's tone was firm, completely different from the indifference he had when talking to Wang Guangyang. He sounded like a moralist: "Confucianism has been corrupted by the Kong family and some big families. As a minister, I naturally have to consider your majesty."

"I'm afraid it's also for the sake of the Second Prince."

Song Lian did not want to play tricks on Li Shanchang, so he directly broke through Li Shanchang's disguise and said sarcastically: "It seems that Duke Han will become the second most loyal dog under the Second Prince. It's true that Hu Weiyong is your student, haha... Duke Han is lagging behind your student this time."

In the whole world, perhaps Song Lian is the only one who dares to describe Li Shanchang as a loyal dog.

Li Shanchang knew Song Lian's character, and he also knew that he could not do anything to him, but Li Shanchang still remembered Song Lian's teasing towards him.

If it was Hu Weiyong, he would have been furious and shouted to write Song Lian into the record of traitors, but Li Shanchang was not angry. On the contrary, he was very calm: "Lord Jing Lian, why do you hate the second prince so much? Is it just because he is the second prince?"

Is it because Zhu Kai threatens Zhu Biao's position as crown prince?
Song Lian shook his head and said, "That's not the case. The Second Prince is a wicked man who refuses to repent. Look at what he did in Yingtian Prefecture. He bullied the people and did all kinds of evil. Your Majesty is too indulgent towards him. If this continues for a long time, it will be a disaster for the Ming Dynasty."

"What does Lord Jinglian think, Your Majesty?"

"His talent and strategy are comparable to that of the Qin Emperor and Emperor Wu of Han!"

"How is the prince?"

"Gentleness, courtesy and modesty are the blessings of the Ming Dynasty."

"Then, are your Majesty and the Crown Prince both foolish people?"

"……no!"

"Do they have the Ming Dynasty in their hearts?"

"Yes!"

"If that's the case, how could Your Majesty and the Crown Prince indulge the Second Prince?"

Li Shanchang took the initiative in his own hands. "Mr. Jinglian, you hold a high position in the government, but you don't know the suffering of the people. I have been in Fengyang for a year and have truly seen the lives of the people. They are not as good as you think. They are even worse than you think."

Song Lian was the greatest scholar of the time, and he was surrounded by people who admired him. He was always high and mighty, so how could he know the lives of ordinary people?
"What you said... is simply a joke!"

Song Lian did not expect that Li Shanchang would come up with this kind of sophistry for him: "The evil things that the Second Prince did in Yingtian Prefecture, were they all for the benefit of the people?"

"The Second Prince is an unrepentant wicked man who has committed all kinds of evil in Yingtian Prefecture. How did you know about this?"

Li Shanchang looked at Song Lian and asked, "Did the people tell you, or did you see it with your own eyes?"

"..."

This one sentence stumped Song Lian, who didn't know what to say.

But he really didn't know how to answer Li Shanchang's question.

Think about it carefully... where did all the bad news about Zhu Kai come from?

It was the scholars around him. They all criticized Zhu Kai, saying that Zhu Kai was bullying people outside. When three people make a tiger, Song Lian also believed that Zhu Kai was a playboy who did all kinds of evil.

But, did the people say that Zhu Kai was a bad person?

Song Lian didn’t know…

He has now begun to reflect on why he thinks Zhu Kai is a bad person?

On the one hand, it was because others had been whispering in his ears, and on the other hand, it was because he was observing Zhu Kai's every word and action.

When teaching Zhu Kai to read, this guy can’t sit still for even a cup of tea.

Song Lian naturally thought that this boy was extremely stupid.

If he can’t even read, what else can this guy do?

However, after hearing what Li Shanchang said, Song Lian didn't know how to refute it.

"Partial listening leads to ignorance. If Lord Jinglian has nothing to do, he can go out and take a walk to see for himself how the people live. You have to experience it for yourself."

Li Shanchang looked at Song Lian and said to him seriously, "Jing Lian, don't think that the Second Prince can't become a talent just because he doesn't like to study. Kong Kejian studied all his life, but what did he achieve?"

When Kong Kejian was brought up, Song Lian immediately got furious: "I, this... this is different, he is just an exception."

"Then... isn't the Second Prince an exception?"

After Li Shanchang finished speaking, he left with a smile.

This old dog actually said that I was Zhu Kai's loyal dog. This is intolerable!

I am a loyal dog, and you are not a good person either.

Li Shanchang was a man with a strong desire for revenge.

And Song Lian... just stood there blankly, his hair disheveled in the wind.

Could it be that I really misunderstood Zhu Kai?

Song Lian didn't want to believe it, but the seeds of doubt had already taken root in his heart...

Zhu Kai handed the work over to Hu Weiyong and Zhu Kai, and he took the troops of Zhang Hao and Zhang Zhou and continued to move north.

Northland!

I haven't been there for more than half a year. I wonder if Wang Baobao has recovered.

If they meet again, Zhu Kai doesn't mind having another big battle with him.

However, Zhu Kai felt it would be difficult.

Last year, the Ming army and the Mongol Yuan army fought a big battle in the northern border. Because of Zhu Kai, the Mongol Yuan army suffered a crushing defeat. Wang Baobao was the King of Qi in the Mongol Yuan army, but he was not without political enemies. The internal strife in the royal court in the north was very fierce. Could Wang Baobao withstand such great pressure?

Even if Wang Baobao withstood the pressure from the Mongol political enemies and still led the Mongol troops, the Mongols would certainly not fight the Ming Dynasty with all their strength.

On the one hand, Wang Baobao was afraid of the secret weapon hidden by Zhu Kai. On the other hand, Wang Baobao had to devote a large part of his energy to guard against the evil hands from his teammates.

He no longer had the chance to fight the Ming Dynasty with all his might.

But this did not affect Zhu Kai's trip to the northern border. He liked the grassland very much. The endless vastness and galloping on the grassland was very similar to the scene of riding a super ocean freighter in his previous life, braving the wind and waves.

This time when he goes to the northern border, Zhu Kai will definitely take a walk around the grassland. He wants to take a look at the place he once conquered.

The last time Zhu Kai came to the grassland, he brought a very heavy psychological shadow to the people on the grassland. Of course, this shadow was not only left to the Mongols, but also had a great impact on the Ming army.

More than 3,000 people fought their way into the heartland of the Mongols, heading all the way from west to east, without encountering any enemies. Even Wang Baobao was forced to flee.

Such a brilliant record made the northern border troops, who were also part of the Ming army, envious and jealous. Now when they were training, they were often scolded by their trainers: "Look at you, you are a bunch of useless people! You are called the most elite border troops of the Ming Dynasty, are you worthy of it?"

The generals used a PUA approach to let the soldiers in the north know the story of Zhu Kai leading his personal battalion to sweep across the desert.

(End of this chapter)