On the Mongolian grasslands.

Zhu Di led the march, and beside him were Zhang Yu and Zhu Neng.

Regarding the intelligence about Japan, since it involves Zhu Di’s eldest son Zhu Gaochi, naturally a copy will be sent over.

"Your Highness, could it be the Prince of Jin who did it? After all, he and Your Highness have always been at odds with each other." Zhang Yu asked.

Zhu Neng, who also knew the content of the intelligence, was completely confused.

The intelligence just now clearly said that it was a Japanese assassin, how did it involve Prince Jin?

Zhu Neng, who had strong limbs, understood that there must be something going on here that he didn't understand, so he simply kept silent and listened to Zhang Yu and the prince talking.

Zhu Di's face was somewhat gloomy. After hearing this, he said, "No, it's not the Third Brother. Although the Third Brother has always hated me very much, this kind of thing is not something the Third Brother can do."

"But Old Seven doesn't seem like the type who would attack my eldest son. Everyone knows that this would definitely violate my father's taboo."

"True and false, real and fake, I think it is possible that it was Japan who did it."

"But to have reached this point, the third and seventh brothers cannot escape suspicion. There must be a traitor from Japan."

"And this person must be quite knowledgeable about our royal family's affairs, otherwise he wouldn't have such means."

Zhu Di's voice was filled with certainty of his own inference.

After all, they are brothers who grew up together, and this does not involve any fight for the throne.

Although overseas vassal states seemed to be outside the Ming Dynasty, they were actually, to a large extent, also restricted and controlled by the Ming Dynasty.

Once an imperial edict is issued, what can the so-called vassal states do?

To a large extent, it is very difficult for vassal kings to develop.

In a vassal state, the first thing to face is the threat from external forces and the handling of internal affairs.

Once we lose the support of the Ming Dynasty, we will be surrounded by malicious intentions from all sides.

It was because Zhu Di understood this that he was willing to give up his own vassal state and come to the grassland to become a general.

"Your Majesty, can we ask His Majesty to go to Japan?"

"After all, no matter what, that place is the prince's foundation."

Zhang Yu asked after hesitating for a moment.

The current situation on the grassland, especially in terms of military power, is that even if it has been relaxed, there are too many restrictions in various aspects, and it is no longer possible to control the hearts of the soldiers as before.

A large number of middle-level officers who had trained at the Ming Military Academy were very effective in their use, but they also controlled the lower-level soldiers.

It doesn’t matter at ordinary times, but once it comes to disputes with superiors, it is impossible to control.

Even if you want to bribe one or two people, it doesn't make much sense, because according to the current trend, everyone can see that a large number of middle-level officers graduate from the Ming Military Academy every year.

These people are naturally from the Prince's faction.

If you can bribe a few or ten people, how can you bribe a hundred or a thousand people?

With just one imperial decree, Zhu Di's military power could be easily removed, leaving him with no ability to resist.

Even Zhu Di admired this method.

He never thought that Zhu Ying did not choose to win over these meritorious generals, but instead started with middle-level officers.

At this point, there is no opponent.

It should be noted that no matter how powerful a general is, his achievements do not depend on his own military strength, but on an extremely powerful and obedient army.

After hearing this, Zhu Di stopped his horse for a moment.

He looked forward, at the captains and generals leading the army.

These people are the real cornerstone of an army.

There was a bit of complexity and unwillingness in Zhu Di's eyes.

After a while, he said, "No need. The situation on the grassland is tense now. Although Hao Hai Dayu of Beiyuan is not very capable, he is constantly instigating tribes from all sides to ambush our army."

"If we leave the grassland and go to Japan at this point, all our efforts will be wasted."

"I believe Gao Chi can handle the affairs of Yancheng in Japan. With the lessons learned this time, the defense of the Yan Palace will be more complete."

After saying.

Zhu Di did not hesitate any longer. He raised his whip and whipped the horse's side, then galloped away.

Zhang Yu and Zhu Neng looked at each other and then left.

The grassland is not in such good condition now as expected.

Whether it was Zhu Di or Lan Yu, they also faced the problem of supplies as they went deep into the grassland.

The long supply lines could easily be attacked by the grassland cavalry. Coupled with the continuous absorption of population, all the grassland nobles became frightened and began to unite.

This was also a huge blow to Zhu Di and Lan Yu.

During this period, we encountered several tough battles.

Although they won in the end, they also suffered considerable losses.

This was a head-on fight and no one could escape easily. Even a few days ago, Zhu Di was almost hit by an arrow.

He also had many injuries on his body.

The war has begun to reach a white-hot state.

…

Japan.

The Palace of Prince Jin.

The expression of Jin Wang Zhu Gang showed a bit of tyranny.

Since coming to Jincheng and getting away from the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Gang has naturally become more relaxed.

As the saying goes, it is easy to change the country but difficult to change one’s nature.

Without the suppression of his father and Zhu Ying, Zhu Gang revealed his cruel nature in many ways.

Those who are not of my race must have different hearts.

Guided by this sentence, the Japanese nobles and common people in Jincheng did not have a good life.

wrong.

In other words, within the area currently governed by Jincheng, there is no longer any mention of Japanese nobles.

The first thing Zhu Gang did when he returned to Japan was to destroy all the Japanese nobles.

Without noble status, they are worse than ordinary civilians, especially those ronin samurai, who are forced to become civilians.

After their weapons were confiscated, they became better laborers.

Under the absolute suppression of force, resistance is meaningless.

The implementation of the collective responsibility system is very effective in Japan.

If one person makes a mistake, the whole group will be punished. They are suppressed to the point that they have no temper at all.

The soldiers on the Ming side had no mercy on these foreigners.

Before the expedition to Japan was launched, the numerous crimes committed by the Japanese pirates along the coastal borders of the Ming Dynasty had already been widely publicized.

At that time it was to boost morale, but now it has become a moral principle in our hearts.

But today, the Prince Jin's Palace seemed extra depressing.

Zhu Gang suppressed his anger and looked at his ministers and generals. He asked in a cold voice, "Regarding the assassination of my nephew, someone in Jincheng was involved."

"If you tell the truth now, only you will die. If I find out that there is a connection, your entire clan, young and old, will be killed."

"There are also people who know some of the secrets. If they are found out and fail to report them, they will be guilty of the same crime!"

When Zhu Gaochi was assassinated, Zhu Gang was stunned for just a moment before he reacted quickly.

This would inevitably lead to suspicion from the Emperor, who was far away in the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Gang was a man who was, of course, fearless, except for his father.

But he knew how cruel his father was. If his elder brother had not pleaded for him when he made the mistake, he might have been stripped of his title.

The killing of uncle and nephew is the biggest taboo in my father's heart. Once it is confirmed, it will be a storm comparable to a tsunami.

Not to mention the overseas vassal state, it would be good enough if he was not demoted to a commoner. He would most likely be recalled to the capital and imprisoned.

Now Zhu Gang is feeling the joy of being overseas, and is feeling the most free.

Moreover, with the help of the Chamber of Commerce from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, there is nothing to worry about money. If I were wrongly imprisoned in the capital, it would be a huge injustice.

No matter how cruel Zhu Gang was, he would never harm his own nephew.

Although he really couldn't stand the fourth brother, he never thought about what he would really do. He just hoped to get his father's approval even more.

What he fears most now is that his ministers and soldiers under his command will not behave properly and cause trouble without authorization, thus implicating himself.

Zhu Gang, sitting on the throne, stared at everyone's facial expressions fiercely.

Those who looked into his eyes naturally lowered their heads in fear.

This feeling made Zhu Gang even more panicked. At first glance, it seemed that everyone of them was a suspect.

Damn it, my father wouldn't doubt me like this.

At this moment, Zhu Gang suddenly felt like he couldn't get rid of the feeling even if he jumped into the Yellow River.

It even felt like the message of my father's scolding was already on the way to Jincheng.

"No, I have to do something, otherwise it would be bad if my father really misunderstood me."

Zhu Gang, who usually never frowned during fighting on the battlefield, had cold sweat on his forehead after a moment of self-anxiety.

He was well aware of his father's suspicious character, and he also understood that he had never had a good impression in his father's heart.

Besides, it was an open secret that he and the fourth brother were not on good terms, so he didn't dare to think about what the outcome would be.

"I just hope my nephew can say a few good words for me in front of the emperor."

After a lucky break, Zhu Gang immediately stood up and announced: "Prepare the horses immediately. My nephew has been assassinated and I must visit him in person."

…

Zhu Yu in Qicheng was not feeling well either.

"Father, I don't think I'm the one causing the trouble. If he wants to suspect someone, he should be suspecting my third brother."

"Everyone knows that the third brother and the fourth brother have a lot of conflicts. Although the fourth brother and I are not very close, we are not enemies either. There is no reason for me to do such a thing."

"No, my father will definitely think too much about this. My third brother and I are the most likely candidates for this country."

"Could it really be the third brother?"

After thinking it over for a while, Zhu Gui decided to go to his third brother to find out what he was thinking.

If it really is the third brother, then I have to be careful.

Zhu Yu immediately ordered his men to prepare their horses and led the cavalry straight to Jincheng.

If you don't go and see things like this in person, you'll really feel uneasy.

…

"What, Third Brother went to Yancheng?"

After spending two days rushing to Jincheng, Zhu Gui did not expect to hear such news.

"Could it be that Third Brother wants to go and find out about the situation in Jincheng?"

"So it seems like it was really Third Brother who did it?"

"No, I have to go see it too."

Zhu Yu immediately turned the troops around and headed towards Yancheng.

He felt that this trip to Yancheng would definitely bring him unimaginable gains.

…

As far as Japan is concerned, the people who felt the most pressure about Zhu Gaochi's assassination were of course the Japanese royal family.

To be more precise, it should be the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.

For Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, Japan had already been severely beaten by the Ming Dynasty, and there was still a lot of compensation to be paid.

And now it is the Japanese who are trying to assassinate the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty.

"General, this must be a conspiracy of the Ming people themselves. They must be looking for an excuse to attack us and invade Japan again."

"That's right, General. This was definitely not done by our people. Under such circumstances, how could we possibly assassinate the prince of the Ming Dynasty? Wouldn't that just bring trouble to ourselves?"

On Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's side, there were a large number of daimyo.

For this purpose, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu summoned all the daimyo who were capable of accomplishing this task.

The purpose is to find out which warrior did this.

Regardless of whether they joined forces with the Ming Dynasty or not, it is undeniable that the attackers were indeed Japanese ninja warriors.

He must investigate the situation here before the Ming envoys arrive.

"There are nearly a hundred warriors involved. It is impossible to conceal such a large scale."

"Even if it's a ninja trained in secret, do you really think that others don't know?"

"I hope you can take the initiative to stand up and take responsibility for this matter. When you chose to mobilize these warriors, you should have thought about the situation today."

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu stood in front of the hall and spoke in a low voice to the surrounding daimyo.

Dozens of people in the hall suddenly fell silent.

Everyone knows that the place where so many powerful warriors could be sent to attack the Yan Palace must be this hall today.

Apart from this, no other daimyo could train so many samurai in secret.

Time passed slowly, and still no one stood up. However, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu showed no sign of being anxious, and just waited quietly.

Finally, footsteps were heard in the hall, and a daimyo dressed in gorgeous silk clothes walked out.

"Kurosawa-kun, why is it you?"

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu said with some disbelief.

The surrounding daimyos also showed unimaginable expressions at this moment.

Because in everyone's impression, Daimyo Kurosawa is the most cautious person and will not easily conflict with others. Even if something happens, he will tend to give in.

He has the character of a good old man.

And such a good guy actually secretly raised high-level ninja warriors and even dared to assassinate the prince of the Ming Dynasty.

This is completely different from our usual impression.

Everyone actually had doubts in their hearts, including Ashikaga Yoshimitsu himself. Although he seemed to be sure of victory, he had actually ruled out many candidates and only had a few suspects.

However, Daimyoji Kurosawa was not among the suspects.

It can even be said that none of the daimyo suspected him.

Restraining his shock, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu quickly asked, "Kurosawa-kun, tell me, is it the King of Qi or the King of Jin of the Ming Dynasty?"