Siheyuan: Pushing Huairu, the Prime Minister admits defeat

In the fourth year of the Jianwen reign of the Ming Dynasty, it was midsummer and the heat was unbearable.

The Yan army, under the banner of clearing the court of corrupt officials, marched thousands of miles forward with unstoppable force. Princes from all over the country joined in the attack and surrounded the entire Yingtian Prefecture.

That night, Prince Gu Zhu Tan and Duke Cao Li Jinglong opened the city walls and surrendered, and the rich capital city entered the countdown to its fall.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

"Duke Cao and the Emperor's uncle will never betray me. Li Jinglong is a general appointed by me personally. How could the traitor Zhu Di let him go?"

In the Taiji Hall, Zhu Yunwen, who was wearing a bright yellow robe and dishevelled hair, shouted hoarsely. His eyes were bloodshot and filled with fear.

Huang Zicheng, a scholar of the Imperial Academy, was also extremely terrified. He looked haggard and trembling, and said, "Your Majesty, it was because I didn't know how to judge people. I recommended him as a general, but he was defeated in many battles, which led to the disaster today!" Fang Xiaoru seemed unusually calm, "Your Majesty, the Yan thieves have already conquered the outer city, and the palace will fall at any time. It is better to take the eldest grandson of the King of Yan, Zhu Zhanyuan, as a hostage to exchange for a glimmer of hope."

"Master, are you saying that we should use Zhu Zhanyuan to threaten the traitor?" Emperor Jianwen seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw, and quickly ordered the Jinyiwei around him to go to the palace to invite Zhu Zhanyuan, who was held hostage in the capital.

A moment later, the Jinyiwei wearing the mandarin duck battle robes came hurriedly leading the child with red lips, white teeth and a pigtail.

"Uncle Emperor, what's the matter with Zhan Yuan? Zhan Yuan just fell down. Look, he's bleeding."

Looking at the baby-voiced Zhu Zhanyuan, Zhu Yunwen felt very complicated. This eldest grandson of the King of Yan, who had just turned six years old, was the son of the eldest son Zhu Gaochi.

When Emperor Hongwu was alive, he liked this sturdy boy. Because he loved Zhu Yunwen, he also began to love him.

When Emperor Gao died, Zhu Zhanyuan stayed in Yingtian and later served as a hostage of Prince of Yan in the capital.

After spending so much time with him, Zhu Yunwen had already developed feelings for this helpless child. Zhu Yunwen fell to the ground, hugging Zhu Zhanyuan and bursting into tears. "Brother Yuan, don't blame your uncle. Your grandfather is plotting treason. He wants me to die and make me ashamed to face the Emperor Taizu Gao! I can't do what he wants, absolutely not!"

"Huang Zicheng, Huang Zicheng accepts the order..."

"I order you to rush to the Yan rebel army immediately and tell them to divide the country by the river. Yes, divide the country by the river! Otherwise, let Zhan Yuan and the Ming Dynasty be buried with him!"

Zhu Yunwen, who was close to madness, urged Huang Zicheng to convey the order as soon as possible. His ferocious appearance frightened Zhu Zhanyuan so much that he burst into tears. Huang Zicheng did not delay after receiving the order. He took the eunuchs and hurried out of the palace to convey the order.

Inside the hall, Zhu Yunwen collapsed to the ground like a pile of mud, muttering, "I cannot die. Your Majesty, please bless me and let me get through this." In the Yan army camp, Prince of Yan Zhu Di, who had already let Qiu Fu lead his troops to take over the defense of the outer city, was wearing a helmet and armor, and a blood-red cloak, and he looked awe-inspiring without even being angry.

"Zhu Di, this is what your majesty means. Prince Zhu Zhanyuan has always been filial and respectful. He is also the eldest grandson. Even a tiger does not eat its own cubs. I hope you, the traitor, can still have some conscience!" Huang Zicheng glanced at Zhu Di with disdain on his face, secretly cursing in his heart why this traitor did not die earlier.

"Huang Zicheng, you, you traitor, how dare you insult my father!" Zhu Gaoxu, holding his sword in his arms, could no longer hold back and was about to chop at the corrupt scholar. He knew that his father liked his eldest grandson Zhu Zhanyuan and felt sorry for this precious grandson, so he wished that Zhu Yunwen would kill Zhu Danyuan.

"Gao Xu, don't be rude,"

Faced with this blatant threat, Zhu Di's face darkened. He stood with his hands behind his back, pondering for a long time, somewhat hesitant.

Zhu Zhanyuan was really his weak spot. This kid had suffered a lot for him since he was a child, which had been a concern for him for many years. However, dividing the river and governing by the river was like a chronic poison to him. This time, he led the army to launch a surprise attack on Yingtian Prefecture, taking the enemy by surprise and making a move while the national guards were stunned.

If his foolish nephew survived, he would raise his arms and call for the guards from the north and south to attack from both sides. How could he resist with his small territory? But if he did not agree to the request of dividing the river and governing separately, his eldest grandson Zhu Zhanyuan's life would be in danger.

Zhu Di hesitated, but at the moment of his hesitation, his second son Zhu Gaoxu suddenly stood up and chopped off Huang Zicheng's huge head with a sword. The bright red blood splashed on Zhu Di's face, which was so warm.

This sword completely cut off Zhu Yunwen's idea of ​​dividing the river and ruling separately, and also destroyed the last chance of survival of Wang Changsun Zhu Zhanyuan. The head rolled to the ground with its eyes wide open. "Evil creature! How dare you be so arrogant!"

Zhu Di kicked Zhu Gaoyi to the ground with a surprised look on his face. "Father, please don't be too soft-hearted. The soldiers of the three armies left their homes to help you ascend the throne and win a title for your wife and children. If you bring trouble to the three armies for a child, wouldn't it cause the whole army to fall apart? Then where would we live?"

Spitting blood, Zhu Gaoxu tearfully advised Zhu Di to vent his anger on himself.

After a long time, Zhu Di was probably tired of fighting, and he dragged his heavy body into the camp. He didn't dare to think about what would happen next. As soon as he reached the bed, he fell heavily.

Outside the tent, I saw my father and Jia sleeping.

Zhu Gaoxu showed a trace of ecstasy on his face, and quickly summoned his generals and led the army to attack the inner city. Listening to the sobbing and sad horn outside the tent, Yan Wang Zhu Di, a veteran prince, had tears in his tiger eyes and his silk quilt was wet with tears. Zhanyuan, don't blame me, grandpa is ashamed of you! At three o'clock in the night, the Yan army conquered the imperial city, and Emperor Jianwen Zhu Yunwen burned himself in the palace in despair. Zhu Zhanyuan, the eldest grandson of the Yan Wangfu, also disappeared in the sea of ​​fire with him.

The next day, Zhu Di, riding on a tall horse, frantically ordered his men to search for Wang Changsun Zhu Zhanyuan. However, apart from the pile of blurred and indistinguishable bones, no matter how he searched the entire city under martial law, he could not find anything about Wang Changsun.

Fang Xiaoru, who proposed to use Wang Changsun as a hostage, was sentenced to death by Zhu Di on the same day, and his ten clans were implicated. At this point, the Jingnan Campaign was completed, and Prince of Yan Zhu Di ascended the throne as Emperor Yongle, and posthumously conferred the title of Prince of Tang on Wang Changsun Zhu Zhanyuan.

In the blink of an eye, it was already the spring of the tenth year of Yongle. Zhu Di, who was on a secret visit with the black-clad prime minister Yao Guangxiao, came to the Qinhuai River. After a whole day of investigating the people's sentiments, Zhu Di felt dry in the mouth. The commander of the Jinyiwei, Ji Gang, ran over carefully to report: "Your Majesty, we found a manor ahead. Judging from the scale, it must be a local gentry. Why not stay here tonight?"

Zhu Di did not refuse and had a pleasant conversation with Yao Guangxiao. As soon as he arrived in front of the bamboo building in the manor, he heard the faint sound of stringed instruments coming from the pavilion between the buildings.

The sun sets in the west and night falls. The Qinhuai River has long lost the hustle and bustle of the day, and has become particularly quiet. The evening breeze, coupled with the low singing of the wine gushing, makes people feel particularly comfortable. Zhu Di, who is wearing a wide-sleeved robe and a hat on his head and uses the alias Zhu Zhong, sees from afar a handsome young man lying on a rocking chair and humming a little song in the bamboo pavilion on the second floor.

In front of him, several dancers wearing gauze and speaking in Wu dialect were dancing to the sound of the piano, as sad as a fairyland. "Oh, Master, you see, the talented men and beautiful women are living a life of drunkenness and dreaming by the Qinhuai River. Anyone who comes here will become lazy and frivolous. It's better to move the capital to the north as soon as possible, and settle the country."

Yao Guangxiao smiled even more and stood there fanning himself. Zhu Di's expression was a little heavy: "Ji Gang, go and see who this rich playboy is." Zhu Yuan, who was happily drinking wine and eating grapes from the maid's mouth, shook his head and didn't notice the uninvited guest approaching.

"Hey, this Beaker bought a whip and candle, and got so excited that he thought it was some kind of express delivery."

Zhu Yuan, who had been living a leisurely life, suddenly stood up with an unhappy expression.

He had traveled to the Ming Dynasty three years ago. In his previous life, he was the son of a small landlord. Although he did not own acres of land, he had dozens of acres of paddy fields and a small fortune.

Unfortunately, his cheap father passed away early and was killed by bandits during a business trip. Zhu Yuan then became the pillar of the family at an early age. Over the years, he quickly accumulated a fortune by relying on the express delivery business he opened.

Yes, he is a courier, but he is not an ordinary courier.

The warehouse where he stored the express deliveries actually traveled to the Ming Dynasty with him, and the warehouse was randomly updated with new express deliveries every day.

There were razors, electric fans, spicy noodles and instant noodles. Today he opened the warehouse with great joy, but he didn't expect that the latest delivery was whips and candles.

What's this? He's not a masochist.

"Hey, kid, whose family are you from?" Just when Zhu Yuan was in a bad mood, Ji Gang's loud and round voice came over. "It's none of your business! If you break into someone's house, be careful that they will report you to the police and arrest you!" Zhu Yuan said angrily.