The atmosphere in the imperial court was incredibly oppressive.
The civil and military officials all lowered their heads, fearing that they might offend Zhu Yuanzhang's imperial authority at this moment.
Of all the officials present, not one was unafraid of Zhu Yuanzhang.
After all, this was a powerful emperor who controlled the entire situation.
Even though the officials present were all exceptionally talented, both civil and military, they were all completely under Zhu Yuanzhang's control.
Zhu Yunwen was the only one who seemed relaxed, as he was very satisfied with Zhu Yuanzhang's fair handling of the matter.
He actually knew that Zhu Yuanzhang would treat him fairly.
Firstly, because historically, Zhu Yuanzhang did indeed handle such situations in this way.
Secondly, Zhu Yuanzhang himself came from a peasant background, and he would certainly not tolerate such bullying behavior.
Therefore, from any perspective, Zhu Yuanzhang's handling of the Zhou Ji matter was more decisive than Zhu Yunwen's, and there was absolutely no problem with Zhu Yunwen's approach.
Seeing that all the officials remained silent, Zhu Yuanzhang narrowed his eyes.
In his mind, killing Zhou Dexing was not only out of anger, nor was it solely because Zhou Dexing had shown signs of rebellion.
The main reason was that he was helping Zhu Yunwen establish his authority, because Zhou Dexing was too disrespectful to Zhu Yunwen in the court. Although Zhu Yunwen fought back forcefully, it was ultimately not as direct as Zhu Yuanzhang executing him directly.
In doing so, he also conveyed to all the officials that making things difficult for Zhu Yunwen in this unreasonable way would only result in their own deaths.
Especially since Zhu Yunwen had done nothing wrong, unfounded accusations would only lead to more death.
The astute courtiers naturally noticed this problem and gradually realized the strength, debating skills, and unwavering resolve that Zhu Yunwen possessed in the court.
With this series of support, coupled with Zhu Yuanzhang's backing, some officials had already realized that Zhu Yunwen was no ordinary man.
Conversely, Zhu Yunwen has already shown a clear disadvantage.
Zhu Yunwen himself understood this principle, and it was clear that Zhu Yunwen had completely suppressed Zhu Yunwen in all aspects at this moment.
At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang slowly spoke:
"If any official is dissatisfied with how we and Yunhu handled this matter, they can raise it again."
At a time like this, only a fool would stand up and offer any advice. If someone were to do so, they would only become another victim of Zhu Yuanzhang's attempt to establish Zhu Yunwen's authority.
Chang Sheng stepped forward and said:
"Your Majesty, I think Yunhu handled this matter extremely well. Although Zhou Dexing is a meritorious military general, that is not a reason for him to condone his son's illegal and disorderly conduct."
His son had even less reason to commit such an act intolerable to Heaven and Earth. The Third Prince Zhu Yunwen possesses a strong sense of justice, was able to promptly root out this black sheep, and had the courage to execute him on the spot; this I greatly admire.”
Zhu Yuanzhang finally heard a sensible sentence and nodded in satisfaction, saying:
"That's a fair point, we like to hear it!"
Seeing that his second brother had spoken up, how could Chang Sen, as Zhu Yunwen's third uncle, not stand up and say a few words in his defense?
So he also came out and said:
"Your Majesty, my... second brother is right..."
Zhu Yuanzhang's face twitched. When he saw Chang Sen stand up excitedly, he thought he was going to say something passionate like his brother.
This is unexpected...
So Zhu Yuanzhang said with some dissatisfaction:
"Well said! Don't say that again!"
This made Chang Sen very anxious, and he quickly said:
"Your Majesty, I am a military general, not good with words..."
Zhu Yuanzhang was so angry he almost laughed, while Zhu Yunwen, standing to the side, couldn't help but burst out laughing, speechless at his third uncle.
At the same time, he also understood why his second uncle could become a duke, while his third uncle could only become a marquis.
It's clear that the difference isn't just in ability; the main reason is probably that this third uncle isn't very good at speaking.
The stark contrast between the two brothers livened up the atmosphere in the imperial court a little.
At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang spoke again to the military generals:
“We know that you may harbor some resentment towards Yun Tong. You must be thinking that as meritorious officials, your children have made mistakes, yet they receive no preferential treatment? They are punished so ruthlessly by Yun Tong, and you think that Yun Tong is a heartless and ungrateful person.”
On the contrary, it is precisely because Yun Tong is a person who values relationships and cares about the feelings of others that he takes this matter so seriously. He can clearly feel how helpless and desperate those hurt by Zhou Ji are, which is why he is so ruthless in killing Zhou Ji.
Zhou Ji paid the price for his actions, and he deserved it. But what about the innocent people he harmed? Did they also deserve their fate?
They did nothing wrong, yet just because they aren't descendants of meritorious officials, they are subjected to oppression, beatings, and even rape by those descendants. Is this reasonable?
The military officers looked at each other in bewilderment.
They naturally understand this principle.
Zhu Yuanzhang continued:
"Now that Yuntong has punished a criminal who deserves his punishment, many innocent people will be spared the harm that criminal might have caused them in the future. How many people has he saved invisibly?"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yunwen sighed slightly. He truly deserved to be an emperor who had fought his way up from the bottom to the throne.
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