Zhu Biao and Zhu Xiong Ying's ancestral worship trip lasted three months. They left in September and only set off again in December to return to the capital.
During this period, someone suddenly claimed that Li Cunyi and his son Li You had conspired with Hu Weiyong to rebel, causing the Hu Weiyong case, which many thought had been closed, to resurface.
Previously, Marquis Lu Zhongheng of Ji'an had also been reprimanded by Emperor Zhu for unauthorized use of the post carriage. Meanwhile, Marquis Fei Ju of Pingliang was ordered to pacify the people and soldiers of Suzhou, but he indulged in wine and women and accomplished nothing. Later, he attempted to persuade the remnants of the Mongol forces to surrender, but returned empty-handed…
This time, the two of them were truly doomed. Old Zhu began to dredge up old grievances, and as marquises who had once been very close to Hu Weiyong, they were naturally executed at this time.
Hu Weiyong may have had some ideas back then, but with such limited power, he had no chance of succeeding in rebellion. The main reason was that Hu Weiyong controlled the government and acted arbitrarily, daring to overstep Emperor Zhu and manage state affairs. This was Hu Weiyong's path to his demise.
Lu Zhongheng and Fei Ju, though perhaps closely associated with Hu Weiyong, had committed numerous illegal acts after the founding of the Ming Dynasty. These individuals, lacking self-restraint, are now being used as a warning to others. The main issue, however, is their obstruction of Zhu Yuanzhang's plan to move the capital. These Huai-Xi nobles still wanted to stay close to home and were reluctant to give up the prosperity of Jiangnan.
As for Li Cunyi, he was the younger brother of Li Shanchang, the Duke of Han, a founding hero. Zhu Yuanzhang executed Li Cunyi's entire family. However, he spared Li Shanchang, the Duke of Han, the first founding hero, and reprimanded Tang He.
Li Shanchang's problem was simple: his younger brother rebelled, so naturally, the older brother couldn't expect to have an easy time. Moreover, Li Shanchang himself was somewhat petty and had once been arrogant because he was the founding hero. Although stripped of his power, Li Shanchang, while in Yingtian Prefecture, still constantly thought about returning to the court.
Unable to restrain the nobles of Huaixi, Li Shanchang, as their leader, was naturally reprimanded this time.
The titles of the deceased Marquis of Yingyang, Yang Jing, and the Marquis of Jining, Gu Shi, were also stripped and could no longer be inherited.
Zhu Yuanzhang's intentions were clear to everyone. Anyone who dared to stop him from moving the capital would be killed. Anyone who dared to oppose him should be prepared to have their entire family, three generations, or even nine generations of their clan exterminated.
The disheartened civil officials and nobles discovered that the Crown Prince, who had previously offered them some protection, was still engaged in ancestral worship. It was said that the Crown Prince's entourage had already begun its return to Yingtian Prefecture, but by the time the Crown Prince returned, the court would be completely reorganized!
Zhu Biao and Zhu Xiong Ying were naturally in no hurry to respond to Tianfu; rather, they were traveling precisely on schedule, deciding their itinerary based on the constant stream of secret reports they received from the Embroidered Uniform Guard. In any case, until the major events were determined, they would continue traveling without responding to Tianfu.
Let Zhu Biao handle the executions. Once the Crown Prince returns to Yingtian Prefecture, those civil and military officials who weren't beheaded might escape with their lives. Perhaps Zhu Biao could persuade them, and the matter would just pass...
When Zhu Yuanzhang was wreaking havoc in the imperial court, salt merchants in Zhejiang, Jiangsu and other places suddenly suffered a disaster.
Chang Shiwan's son, Master Mao, led his arrogant and fierce troops to raid and exterminate the family. The Imperial Guards also took the opportunity to arrest people, and anyone even remotely connected to the Japanese pirates was subjected to severe torture...
Many in the Censorate attacked Chang Mao, while Zhu Yuanzhang remarked on how wealthy the salt merchants were. Although his grandson, who was always asking for money to build cannons and ships, had embezzled a large amount, the silver still turned over to the national treasury was still substantial.
In fact, many people in the court were aware of this, especially some nobles and the Zhejiang civil officials. Their "front men" had been dealt a blow, and their core support base had been weakened, largely because they were trying to prevent the relocation of the capital.
Furthermore, the Crown Prince controlled nearly half of the Ming Dynasty's navy, and these arrested salt merchants and others were merely given leverage by the Crown Prince.
Although the Crown Prince's position was secure, he rarely attended court. The bloodthirsty Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang was a figure whom even nobles and civil officials dared not look upon closely; they still had to turn to the Crown Prince.
As a result, the Crown Prince stopped in Chuzhou halfway there.
It wasn't about going to Langya Mountain to see the Drunken Pavilion. Back then, when Zhu Yuanzhang left Guo Zixing to go it alone, he led twenty-four trusted men south to conquer Dingyuan. Chuzhou was Zhu Yuanzhang's first territory, which was of great significance.
Some people have figured it out: even the so-called refined and magnanimous Crown Prince is incredibly adept at imperial politics. The Zhu family, spanning three generations, is using various methods to provoke these civil and military nobles.
Different stances and different starting points naturally lead to different choices.
Zhu Xiong Ying himself felt that he had changed quite a bit. Before, he was just an ordinary person who had read some miscellaneous books, but he could be considered a young man with relatively sound values.
But now, he often needs to consider things from the perspective of a successor to a feudal empire, and many of his actions are perhaps considered 'disgusting' by countless people in modern society.
But there was no other way. Zhu Xiong Ying had no intention of becoming a saint; what he needed was to secure the imperial power that might be passed down to him. Only in that way might he have a chance to change the course of history or realize some of his ambitions.
Let posterity judge whether he was a traitor, a tyrant, or a foolish ruler!
Zhu Xiong Ying considered constitutional monarchy and the realization of a global village impossible; some of these ideas simply didn't exist in the traditional culture of this country and this nation. While the Ming Dynasty's power was indeed growing stronger, its current scientific and technological productivity was limited.
By laying a more solid foundation, even if there are spendthrift heirs in the future, they can squander money for several more years.
Determining some general directions, relatively correct directions, and avoiding turning back the clock of history is what Zhu Xiong Ying feels she should do, and is also capable of doing.
Zhu Biao and his son Zhu Xiong Ying were still sightseeing and had said they wouldn't go to Zuiweng Pavilion. However, Zhu Biao, who was well-versed in Confucian classics and had a kind and generous personality, also showed some of his scholarly temperament and decided to rest for another day.
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