Father can be an enemy country

Chapter 177 The Emperor's Art

After leaving Hongze Lake, Zhu Yuanzhang inspected Huai'an again.

The emperor's trip to Huai'an was nominally to inspect the Grand Canal, but in fact anyone with a discerning eye knew that he was here for the Chaohu Gang...

Yu Tongyuan, Liao Dingguo and Yu Tongjiang mustered up their courage to appear in the pick-up team.

If the whole family hadn't been in the hands of Boss Zhu, no one would have been able to give them this courage.

What the three of them didn't expect was that Zhu Yuanzhang rejected the arrangement of the prefect of Huai'an and set up the palace in Yu Tongyuan's Capital Water Transport Department Yamen.

After inspecting the water transport wharf, the water gate, the embankment and other places, Zhu Yuanzhang came to stay at the yamen of the capital's water transport department.

Seeing that there were no outsiders, the three of Yu Tongyuan quickly knelt down and kowtowed vigorously to plead guilty.

"You are indeed guilty!" Zhu Yuanzhang finally stopped greeting them with a smile, and reprimanded them with a donkey face: "Whatever you do, it will be copied by the Nine Clans in any dynasty!"

"Yes, I have nothing to say." The three of them looked remorseful.

"But who made you have shit luck? It happened to save our four sons." Zhu Yuanzhang changed the subject again: "Even if it was the lives of the four princes, it would be the lives of our two families and nine clans.

"In addition, you were timely anyway, and you have made great achievements in suppressing the bandits. Once we open the mouth, it will be difficult for four horses to chase you. If we don't pursue you, we won't pursue them!"

"Yes, thank you, Majesty Long En." The three kowtowed their heads.

"Well, in fact, you two heroes came out in large numbers and shed all their blood for our country." Zhu Yuanzhang sighed and said:

"It's not just your two. The first batch of Chaohu brothers basically died fighting for us. The subsequent batch also died seven or eight times. We really can't bear to use a knife on them unless it is absolutely necessary!"

"Your Majesty, I deserve death for all my crimes. It was almost a mistake, and the whole family and brothers were doomed..." The three of them burst into tears again.

"Okay, let's all get up." Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand generously and ordered people to pass the meal.He also personally poured the cup to the three of them and said:

"Let's say let the past go, it means let the past go. After drinking this glass of wine, the whole story will be completely changed! Including me, whoever insists on it will die a terrible death!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The three excitedly picked up the wine cup and drank it down.

Zhu Yuanzhang reassured the three of them again: "The investigation of illicit salt trafficking is basically over, let your people put their hearts back in their stomachs."

"That's great..." Yu Tongyuan and the three looked at each other, and now they have an explanation to the people below.

"But there is one thing, let's still say that, merit is merit, and mistakes are mistakes! The merits are not worth the faults, and the faults are not covered up!" Zhu Yuanzhang said with a solemn expression: "We just said that we should not blame the past, but we didn't say that we will commit crimes in the future. Let's not pursue it!"

"understand."

"In short, remember this sentence, obey the law and abide by the law, and you will always be there!" After Zhu Yuanzhang finished his lesson, he put on a smile again and said, "Come, drink and drink..."

"Your Majesty, please." The three of them quickly prepared to accompany them, and the monarch and his subjects exchanged cups, and the atmosphere gradually became warmer.

The grievances between the monarch and his ministers seem to have disappeared after three rounds of wine...

~~
In the end, the three of Yu Tongyuan were all drunk and carried back.

Anyone who runs a boat can drink it. Zhu Yuanzhang can drink the three of them like this, so naturally he can't drink it well.

He was in a daze, neither sitting nor lying down, and it was uncomfortable no matter how he posed.

"Father hasn't drank like this for many years." Zhu Biao brought him hangover soup and waited for Zhu Yuanzhang to drink it down.

After eating a bowl of sour bamboo shoot soup, Zhu Yuanzhang felt better, and said with a long sigh of relief, "I can't drink like this. If I don't drink this much, how do they know that we are serious?"

"I thought it was just an expedient measure for my father to forgive them, but I didn't expect it to be true this time." Zhu Biao said softly.

"It's just that the situation is better than the people. They are indeed lucky. When we canceled the move of the capital, the old brothers in Huaixi must have great opinions. Maybe they will show us some color." Zhu Yuanzhang asked his son to rub it for himself Temple Road:

"There is also Mr. Han, this time we bored him, and his temper will definitely not be able to swallow this breath."

"Didn't the father always teach his son to either not do it or do it?" Zhu Biao asked, "Why not..."

"Why didn't you just take him down?" Zhu Yuanzhang said with a faint smile:

"Because he is finished. Everyone in the world knows that Han Hangong is the person in charge of the construction of the Central Capital. Now that the construction of the Central Capital has been stopped and the national policy of moving the capital has been cancelled, he naturally has to bear the greatest responsibility.

"Korea will soon lose his prestige and become a complete loser. How can he order our group of proud and ever-victorious generals?"

"Yes." Zhu Biao nodded, somewhat understanding.The Ming army has been going from one victory to another, so it is impossible for the generals to be convinced by a loser...

"For the old brothers in Huaixi, it is best for him to disappear quickly and replace him with a young and promising leader to regroup. But we want to keep him. Not only keep him, but also continue to pamper him later, so that The old brothers have no way to say goodbye to the old and welcome the new, so they can only hold their noses and continue to recognize him as the eldest brother."

"How can the Huaixi Gang have cohesion like this? If you are not in harmony, you can't get things done, and we men can sleep more peacefully."

"Understood." Zhu Biao nodded slightly, admiring his father from the bottom of his heart.With such a violent temper, under such rage, he can still maintain his rationality and know what to do to the best advantage.You really have to learn this yourself.

"Remember, the key to being an emperor lies in the word 'check and balance'. Huaixi is too inflated, so we have to find a way to weaken them. At the same time, strengthening their opponents can also achieve balance."

"Adversary?" the prince asked in a low voice.

"That's right." Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slowly, and said with a big tongue: "The Chaohu Navy and Huaixi are fighting openly and secretly. Because the matter between Kaizhong and Liao Yongzhong has become a fire, so we will keep them. As long as they are there Huai’an, we don’t have to worry, some people will go down the Grand Canal.”

"Guangchao Lake Navy, I'm afraid it's far from being able to check and balance Huaixi?"

"Of course, there are also the Fujian and Guangdong navy divisions, as well as the troops that later joined us. They are actually Huaixi's opponents." Zhu Yuanzhang said again: "The Huaixi family dominates the entire governor's mansion, and only promotes those who were born in Huaixi. Generals. Those foreign generals have been squeezed out, enough of them.

"This time when we come to Huai'an, having a drink with Yu Tongyuan is a clear signal. As long as those foreign generals are not stupid, they will actively move closer to us." Zhu Yuanzhang said in a deep voice:
"In this way, we can promote them and gradually form a certain balance against Huaixi. We don't need them to do anything, as long as those old brothers know that Daming's army is not enough for them to cover the sky with one hand. We really want to take the initiative, We have to wait until your younger brothers leave the town..."

"I didn't realize it at first, but now I realize that it's really imminent for the second child to become a feudal vassal." Zhu Biao sighed softly.

"It won't go so smoothly." Zhu Yuanzhang snorted and said, "Let's leave the word here, and they will definitely try their best to delay it for a few years if they can. The sooner your brothers are allowed to take over the throne, the better."

"Alas..." Zhu Biao sighed again, only to feel that the road ahead was full of thorns.

ps. The second update in three consecutive releases.

(End of this chapter)