Ashikaga Yoshimitsu blocked the news and planned to launch a surprise attack on Prince of Yan Zhu Di.

In name, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu had a considerable advantage.

Although the Ming Dynasty was very powerful, it was Prince of Yan Zhu Di who first started the war, and Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was only on the passive defense.

This allowed him to give an explanation to the Ming Dynasty.

Without this explanation, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu would not have the courage to go to war directly.

He also learned that the four vassal kings were not of one mind and they all wished that the King of Yan would suffer losses.

As long as the life of King Yan is not endangered, there is no big problem in doing anything.

But Ashikaga Yoshimitsu forgot that he could place spies in Kyushu Island, so couldn’t Prince of Yan Zhu Di place spies in Honshu Island?

Historically, Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the Jinyiwei system, and it was Zhu Di who restored the system.

Intelligence information has always been something that Zhu Di attached great importance to. Since he came to Japan, Zhu Di has been spending a lot of money to build his own intelligence agency.

Not to mention Kyushu Island, Zhu Di's intelligence personnel had also infiltrated the other three vassal states.

The loss he suffered in the confrontation with Zhu Ying in the capital made Zhu Di reflect deeply.

Why was Zhu Ying able to get the news in advance? It was because the intelligence personnel of the Chamber of Commerce were excellent.

Therefore, Zhu Di learned the model of the Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce.

For example, the maritime merchant Xu Huyou.

Zhu Di once inherited his father's temper and always looked down upon businessmen.

As his father changed, Zhu Di naturally had to change as well.

At this moment, in a shop next to the palace.

Two people were pondering.

They are not Han Chinese, but authentic, native Japanese.

However, last year, he had already become Zhu Di's secret informant.

As for the reason, it's very simple, it's all about money.

As long as they sell the information about Kyoto on Honshu Island to Zhu Di, they can get a considerable benefit.

"The royal palace was massacred. This should be considered a big deal. I don't know how much money the King of Yan will give us."

"Who cares? Maybe the King of Yan isn't interested in this news? It doesn't matter how much it is. This is all for free. In the past year, the money we got from the King of Yan is much more than what we made from running a store."

"Oh, actually, sometimes I really don't want to do this anymore. If our family knew about this, we would definitely have a hard time. It's like telling the general about this. We might be killed. We really risk losing our heads."

"Are you stupid? Can we stop now? We can't stop. If you say you don't want to do it, believe it or not, King Yan will sell our business to the general. Now it's like this. We can only go down this path and there's no turning back."

"I'm just saying it. I know the consequences."

"Don't think too much. I have good news for you. As long as the news we bring to King Yan is valuable enough, we can let his son leave Japan and go to Ming. King Yan has already agreed."

"Really? Don't lie to me."

"Why would I lie to you? This is a big deal for us, but it's just a word for King Yan. King Yan won't lie to us for such a small matter."

"If that's the case, then I'm relieved. Hurry up and tell the King of Yan that the palace was massacred by the general. The palace has just been occupied by these two princes, and such a change has occurred. Obviously, there is something wrong with the general."

…

Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui traveled along the way, feeling very proud.

It's a rare opportunity to get out, so of course I have to have fun to my heart's content.

They have noble status, especially in Japan. Except for the King of Japan and the general, other daimyo would kneel down and lick their boots when they knew they were the princes of the Ming Dynasty.

The dinner, singing and dancing were all prepared perfectly.

This naturally delayed the trip.

Before they returned to Yancheng, the King of Yan had already learned the news that the palace had been massacred.

In the main hall of Prince Yan's Palace.

"Father, I have fulfilled my mission and reached an agreement with the King of Japan. I have also brought back 100,000 taels of silver as a token of the King's sincerity."

"When the time comes, father will cooperate with the King of Japan and stockpile troops at the border to lure Ashikaga Yoshimitsu over. The King of Japan will then integrate the army and seize military power."

Zhu Gaoxu said proudly in the main hall.

However, he did not notice that Zhu Di's face had darkened.

"Oh, it seems that you have made a great contribution this time." Zhu Di's tone did not reveal his joy or anger.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't care and replied casually: "This is all due to my father's guidance. I dare not take credit for it."

Zhu Di ignored Zhu Gaoxu and turned to Zhu Gaosui and asked, "Old Third, do you have anything to say?"

Zhu Gaoxu was so happy that he was blinded by joy, but Zhu Gaosui was always paying attention to his father's expression.

When his father saw his second brother talking about 100,000 taels of silver, his face changed and his heart sank.

He knew that he and his second brother must have embezzled 100,000 taels of silver and their father must have discovered it.

When he heard the question, he hesitated for a moment.

"I'm asking you, Third Brother, are you deaf?"

Zhu Di's tone clearly showed great anger.

By this time, Zhu Gaoxu had also reacted and felt a little uneasy.

"Father, please forgive me, Father, please forgive me!"

Zhu Gaosui was so frightened that he immediately knelt down on the ground and kowtowed.

He knew how cruel his father was, and considering such a large sum of money, he would definitely be beaten.

Zhu Di stood up, walked to Zhu Gaosui, and kicked him down with one foot.

He said sternly: "Forgive me, forgive me for what crime? Tell me how serious your crime is."

After Zhu Gaosui fell to the ground, he turned over and crawled, but did not dare to answer.

At this time, he did not dare to betray his brothers.

At this moment, Zhu Gaoxu was a little dazed by his father's fury. Suddenly he thought of something and pointed at Xu Huyou and cursed: "You, you told father about the 100,000 taels of silver, right?"

"You lowly businessman, I shouldn't have believed your lies in the first place. I should have killed you!"

Zhu Gaoxu was so angry that his teeth were itching.

In order to embezzle the 100,000 taels of silver, he and Zhu Gaosui each received 40,000 taels, he gave 5,000 taels to Xu Huyou, and the remaining 15,000 taels were distributed to the accompanying soldiers.

Now Xu Huyou took his money and told his father about this, which was simply betraying the two brothers.

At this moment, Zhu Gaoxu had already sworn in his heart that he would kill him in the future to vent his hatred.

However, he then saw Xu Huyou's face change drastically. He knelt on the ground in fear and kowtowed to his father: "Prince Yan, please spare my life. Your Highness Prince Yan, please spare my life!"

This reversal of events stunned Zhu Gaoxu.

In this situation, even a fool could see that Xu Huyou did not mention embezzling 100,000 taels of silver at all.

Naturally, my father was angry about something else.

So, did I just say something about the 100,000 taels of silver?

Bang!

A loud slap landed directly on Zhu Gaoxu's face.

He was knocked to the ground by the powerful and angry attack. The burning pain on his left side made Zhu Gaoxu lose his temper.

But that’s not all.

Zhu Di was furious and kicked Zhu Gaoxu hard.

"You stupid bastard, you're still talking about replacing your elder brother and becoming the crown prince. For an idiot like you, it's simply wishful thinking."

"If you dare to take this money, what else would you not dare to do?"

"Do you really think being a general and being able to kill a few people is your greatest ability?"

"Bring me my sword. Today I will kill this disloyal and unfilial son who has deceived his superiors and subordinates!"

Zhu Di shouted loudly, and the guards present were trembling with fear, but no one moved to take the sword of Prince Yan.

The prince is just saying this, who would dare to take it seriously?

If the sword was really taken away, do you think the prince would kill or not with this sword?

"Are you rebelling? You don't even listen to my words." Zhu Di turned his head to look at the guards around him and scolded.

The personal guards in the hall, including General Zhu Neng, all knelt on the ground, not daring to utter a word.

Zhu Neng on the side thought to himself: If only Zhang Yu were here, he would definitely be able to persuade the King of Yan.

Zhu Neng was a brave general, not a wise one.

King Yan has always listened to Zhang Yu's advice.

Unfortunately, Zhang Yu led his troops to patrol the surrounding area at this time.

At this time, footsteps were heard outside the door.

Xu Yihua came over with two palace maids.

"Ma'am, why are you here?"

When he saw Xu Yihua, Zhu Di's originally angry expression faded a little.

"If I hadn't come, wouldn't Xu'er have been killed by you? People say that even a tiger won't eat its own cubs, but you are different. You don't even let your own son go, right?" Xu Yihua said with a cold snort.

Zhu Di quickly explained: "Madam, you don't know how greedy this bastard is. He embezzled a total of 100,000 taels of silver."

"Not only that, the royal palace was completely razed by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, and this bastard was still enjoying himself on the road, delaying military affairs and embezzling military pay. Is there anything else this bastard wouldn't dare to do?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Yihua looked at Zhu Gaoxu, who was lying on the ground with a swollen face and blood at the corner of his mouth, and couldn't help feeling a little distressed.

She loved Zhu Gaochi, and she loved her second and third sons as well. These were her sons after she had been pregnant for ten months and nearly lost her life.

Which mother would not feel sorry for the flesh that falls off her body?

"Xu'er and the others were wrong. They deserve to be punished and beaten. As their mother, I won't say much, but they shouldn't be punished by death."

"You want to kill your own son at any time. Are you trying to show off your Yan Wang demeanor by sacrificing your own son for the sake of justice?"

"Where is the sword, Zhu Neng? Go get it for the prince. Even if it means killing me, his mother, today."

Xu Yihua glared at Zhu Di and said.

How could Zhu Neng dare to respond at this time?

When the prince and his wife quarrel, it is the subordinates like us who suffer.

He half-knelt there like a sculpture, pretending not to hear.

"Madam, why are you doing this? I was just scolding you. How could I really kill my own son?"

Zhu Di's tone softened.

Emotionally, Zhu Di was very similar to Zhu Yuanzhang and always respected his wife.

Empress Ma helped Zhu Yuanzhang a lot in the cause of nation-building. Her contribution to the founding of the Ming Dynasty was no less than that of Xu Da and Chang Yuchun.

Similarly, Xu Yihua, who grew up with Empress Ma, also provided a lot of help to Zhu Di.

Zhu Yuanzhang said that the harem was not allowed to interfere in government affairs.

In fact, he never cared about Empress Ma's involvement in government affairs.

The father and son are similar in this regard.

Xu Yihua did not respond, but turned to look at his two sons and scolded them: "This palace is not yours from now on. You are the ones who are greedy for your own money."

"Especially you, Xu'er. Your elder brother is now in charge of Annan. His Majesty's grandson pays close attention to him. He even sent me a letter a few days ago saying that everything is going well over there. Can't you learn from your elder brother?"

"If your elder brother has made great contributions, he can establish himself in Annan, and there will be no need for the position of the crown prince."

Xu Yihua was giving Zhu Gaoxu a reminder.

Zhu Gaochi had already developed in Annan. If everything went well, he would not have come to Japan to inherit the royal palace.

From then on, the palace naturally belonged to Zhu Gaoxu.

This also includes the throne.

In fact, these things can be figured out if you think about them a little bit.

However, Xu Yihua had already realized that his second son had probably never thought about this, otherwise he would not have embezzled his own money.

"Father, mother, I know I was wrong and I will never do it again."

Zhu Gaoxu knelt on the ground and spoke hesitantly.

His swollen face made it difficult for him to speak clearly.

Seeing this, Zhu Di snorted coldly: "You know you are wrong, what do you know you are wrong about?"

"Now that you have all arrived in Yancheng, have you heard about the palace?"

"If I hadn't made arrangements in advance, you, a rebellious son, would have let your father lead the troops there, not knowing that you had already fallen into the trap of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu."

Zhu Gaoxu couldn't believe it and said, "How could he have the courage to ambush my father?"

Zhu Di snorted coldly, "For decades before this, Japan was caught in a civil war between the north and the south. Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, who was able to unify Japan and put an end to the chaos between the north and the south, was a man who gained his fame in vain."

"The one who slaughtered the King of Wa was not a coward. He deliberately blocked the news of the palace so that my father and the King of Wa could continue. If I were to lead the army to the border, he would have already ambushed hundreds of thousands of troops."

"He really doesn't dare to harm my life, but how many soldiers will die in this ambush? In theory, it was my first move, breaking the alliance, and he was just forced to fight back. He will have to give an explanation to the court."

"We have already offended your grandfather the Emperor by hiding the mineral deposits. If we lose so many elite soldiers, we will have to go to the court to apologize."

"Your uncles will definitely take advantage of the situation and seize the mineral deposits at the border."

"At that time, let's put aside the development of Yanwang City. Maybe I, the King of Yan, will be confined to the capital."

After hearing these answers, Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui broke out in a sweat and were terrified.

They didn't expect things to be so serious.

On the other side, Xu Huyou was trembling with fear.

According to this situation, it seems that it would be a light punishment for the King of Yan to chop off his own head.

When Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui wanted to share the money with him, he really didn't want to take it. But if he didn't take it, the two princes would be worried.

Caught in a dilemma, I had no choice but to accept it.

Now that Zhu Gaoxu had said it by mistake, it was really an unexpected disaster.

While he was thinking, King Yan's gaze turned over.

"How much did you take?"

Hearing the King of Yan's question, Xu Huyou hurriedly said, "I took five thousand taels."

Zhu Di asked again: "How much did the others get?"

Xu Huyou's heart trembled, and he replied: "The accompanying soldiers will share 15,000 taels of silver."

Zhu Di actually had no intention of blaming Xu Huyou.

Not to mention five thousand taels, even one hundred thousand taels was not much for Xu Huyu.

He knew that before the sea was opened, the Xu family of Xu Huyu was engaged in maritime trade and smuggling.

After the opening of the sea, they made huge profits.

However, the imperial court's severe crackdown on smuggling merchants forced the Xu family to seek refuge under his command and work for the Prince of Yan's Mansion at the same time.

The money given as filial piety alone amounted to millions of strings of cash.

Naturally, it was his two sons who forced Xu Huyou to take it.

But Zhu Di would not let him go so easily.

"Afterwards, pay 300,000 strings of cash as military pay," Zhu Di said casually.

Xu Huyou was overjoyed and kowtowed immediately: "Thank you, Your Highness, Prince of Yan, for your grace."

Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui were stunned.

They deceived their superiors and subordinates, and the two of them divided a total of 80,000 silver coins.

When I got to my father, he asked for three hundred thousand strings of cash with just one sentence.

Xu Huyou should be grateful.

Sure enough, ginger is more spicy when it is old.

"The money and property of the soldiers who accompanied them will not be taken. Instead, they will be given 20 military weapons each to serve as a warning to others."

"As for the two of you, return all the money you embezzled, and be demoted from general to pawn."

"If you can perform meritorious service in this battle, I will consider reinstating you."

Zhu Di said with a cold snort.

"Your Majesty is wise."

Zhu Neng took the lead in shouting, followed by Xu Huyou and other guards.

Zhu Di used both kindness and force.

Each of the accompanying soldiers was given more than 100 strings of cash, and Zhu Di was too lazy to take it back. Twenty military strikes was no light punishment, it was a severe beating.

After receiving these twenty military weapons, he will not be able to get out of bed for at least ten days or half a month.

Zhu Di also knew that these soldiers were taking the blame for his two sons, but that was the military rule.

If you make a mistake, you must be punished.

The soldiers who were beaten afterwards would not have any complaints. After all, more than a hundred strings of cash was not a small amount for the lower class.

"Father, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu is obviously a trap. Should we still go?" Zhu Gaoxu hesitated for a moment, but still couldn't help asking.

Zhu Di smiled coldly: "If you allow him to plot against me, why can't I use his own trick against him?"

"It just so happens that you two rebellious sons will serve as pawns this time. Go to your uncle and aunt and tell them about this matter."

"Ashikaga Yoshimitsu can't help it. I have always wanted to enter Honshu Island. Now that he has come, if he doesn't leave something behind, it will show that I am afraid of him."

"As for the imperial court, we will report the whole matter to them, and they will just give us some light blame."

"As long as it doesn't lead to a war between the two countries, it won't be a big deal."

After hearing these words, Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui were immediately delighted.

He made up his mind to make up for the loss he suffered today from Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.

Especially Zhu Gaoxu, this beating cannot be in vain.