For example, after Zhu Yunwen became emperor, Qi Tai in history offered many bad ideas, which did more harm than good.
Therefore, Zhu Yunwen would not employ such a person, while the two vice ministers of the Ministry of War were quite good.
Of course, this depends on their performance. If these two vice ministers have no intention of joining Zhu Yunwen's camp, then Zhu Yunwen will never promote them.
But no matter what, Qi Tai must be suppressed.
This is also a key point that Zhu Yunwen needs to focus on next: he must not place Qi Tai, Zhu Yunwen's staunch ally, in such an important position as the Ministry of War.
So Zhu Yunwen began his own plan. The simplest way to remove the Minister of War in a short time was to find fault with him.
Qi Tai has quite a few flaws, but none of them have yet caused serious consequences.
After much deliberation, Zhu Yunwen decided to take advantage of Goryeo's mission to the Ming Dynasty to see if he could make a move.
After making up his mind, a few days later, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites approached Zhu Yunwen and reported to him about the purpose of the Goryeo envoy's visit.
Right there in the Eastern Palace, the Vice Minister of Rites said to Zhu Yunwen:
"I have already received the envoy from Goryeo. As His Highness the Crown Prince predicted, the purpose of the envoy's visit is that a change of dynasty has occurred in Goryeo."
The new king sent envoys to request the emperor to name their new country and to acknowledge his legitimacy.
Zhu Yuntong nodded: "It sounds like there's no problem, but it's probably not that simple."
The Vice Minister of Rites asked Zhu Yunwen with a puzzled expression:
"What does the Crown Prince mean by that? I don't understand."
Zhu Yunwen said, "Tomorrow morning at court, have the envoy from Goryeo come to the court to see the emperor. I will make my own decisions then."
The Vice Minister of Rites bowed and said, "I understand. There's nothing else. I'll take my leave now."
Zhu Yunwen nodded and said, "Go down."
After the Vice Minister of Rites left, Zhu Yunwen began to carefully reflect on his memories of some events related to the Goryeo Kingdom in history.
He remembered that although Yi Seong-gye had established a new dynasty, he was somewhat ambivalent.
He not only sent envoys to the Ming Dynasty, hoping to gain its protection and recognition.
At the same time, another group of envoys were secretly sent to Northern Yuan Mongolia to show goodwill to the remaining forces of Northern Yuan Mongolia.
A typical case of recognizing fathers from both sides.
Although Li Chenggui believed this was for the sake of safety, after all, the Ming Dynasty had only been established for a little over twenty years.
Before that, it was the Yuan Dynasty.
Although the Yuan Dynasty had lost and retreated to Mongolia, it still possessed considerable strength, which made Yi Seong-gye somewhat fearful.
He worried that if he only acknowledged the Ming Dynasty as his father, Yi Seong-gye would be in a very awkward position if the Yuan Dynasty were to reclaim the Central Plains.
Therefore, to be on the safe side, he sent envoys to the Ming Dynasty to acknowledge the Ming Dynasty as his father, and also sent envoys to the Northern Yuan Dynasty to acknowledge the Mongols as his father.
However, both sides kept it a secret from each other. Regardless of which side ultimately became the true ruler, Lee Seung-gye believed that his newly established dynasty would not encounter any problems.
This method could fool the Northern Yuan and the Ming Dynasty for a short time, but it could not fool Zhu Yunwen, who was well-versed in history.
So, the next morning at the court session, Zhu Yunwen stood beside Zhu Yuanzhang.
After the civil and military officials shouted "Long live the Emperor!", they then shouted "Long live the Crown Prince!"
He then summoned the Goryeo envoy to court.
An envoy, a middle-aged man dressed in the robes of a Korean minister, knelt down and kowtowed upon entering, saying:
"The envoy of the vassal state of Goryeo, Prince Zhao Pang, pays his respects to His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty. May His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty live ten thousand years, and may His Highness the Crown Prince of the Great Ming Dynasty live a thousand years."
Zhu Yuanzhang spoke calmly:
"Rise, all of you. What brings you to the Ming Dynasty?"
"Your Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty, some changes have occurred in Goryeo. The former Goryeo king, while in office, neglected his duties, abandoned court affairs, and only cared about enjoying himself. He was impeached by his ministers."
Knowing his own inadequacy, the king voluntarily abdicated in favor of Yi Seung-gye of Goryeo, who became the new king. Now that the new king has ascended the throne in Goryeo, he has specially dispatched his minister to the Ming Dynasty to report to the Ming Emperor.
We urge the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty to issue an imperial edict to bestow this title and to select a new name for our ancient Goryeo Kingdom, so that our new dynasty may forever remain loyal to the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly and said:
"As long as Goryeo is loyal to the Ming Dynasty, none of these are problems. We will officially confer titles upon the new Goryeo king, Yi Seong-gye."
However, at this moment, Zhu Yunwen spoke:
"Grandpa, please wait a moment!"
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Yunwen and said:
"Oh, is there anything else the Crown Prince wants to say?"
Zhu Yunwen smiled, then looked at Zhao Pang, the Prince of Fuxing, and said:
"King Yi Seong-gye of Goryeo is disloyal to the Ming Dynasty. Shouldn't he give the Ming Dynasty an explanation?"
Upon hearing this, the officials in the court were all puzzled, and Zhao Pang was even more frightened. He quickly knelt on the ground and said:
"Your Highness, you are innocent! What makes you say that? Our new emperor has the utmost respect for the Ming Dynasty and has absolutely no disloyalty whatsoever. Please, Your Highness, see the truth."
Zhu Yunwen sneered: "As far as I know, the envoys sent by Goryeo were not just your group. There was another group that went into northern Mongolia to meet with the Northern Yuan Dynasty, wasn't there?"
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