A century-old family that runs through the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 24: Fake surrender, Zhu Wenzheng’s last chance
"You know His Highness's character, and I can't persuade him." Yan Ling sighed and then raised his eyes, looking directly into Zhu Wenzheng's eyes: "There is only one person who can save you."

Zhu Wenzheng was silent for a moment. With his intelligence, he certainly knew who this person was.

"Write a letter and I will help you take it out. Then I will tell you a few more words. If you follow my instructions, you may be able to avoid death. It is impossible for the official to be reinstated, but at least the outcome should not be It’s so miserable.”

In the dark and damp cell, Zhu Wenzheng tore off a piece of his dirty clothes and bit his fingertips, blood dripping from them.He just used his clothes as paper and blood as ink, writing while crying. The tears stained the entire cloth, making the blood words a little blurry, making it look particularly desolate.

There is no need for Yan Ling to give any instructions. It is full of words of regret and admission of mistakes, indicating that he will never do it again. At the same time, it also focuses on the misery of his life after the death of his father Zhu Xinglong (i.e. Zhu Chongsi, the eldest brother of Zhu Yuanzhang), as well as the misery of his mother. Wang took him to defect to Zhu Yuanzhang. The scene when relatives met, and how excited he was when seeing Zhu Yuanzhang (Zhu Wenzheng was really miserable when he followed his mother in the early years), what stands out is that he is pitiful.

For a politician, being miserable is of little use.But this letter was not addressed to the politician Zhu Yuanzhang.

After reading the letter, Yan Ling was [-]% sure that not only would he not be allowed to die, but he would not even be placed under house arrest in history.

Of course, to do this, this letter alone is not enough.

Zhu Yuanzhang actually had a lot of ambition in the early days of his business. If Zhu Wenzheng hadn't done such a rebellious act as his nephew, no matter how much he did, at least he wouldn't have been murderous, so if it wasn't for Empress Ma After being dissuaded in time, Zhu Wenzheng almost died.

After all, your nephew is against you. What would it sound like if this spread?The concept of clan in ancient China was extremely strong. For example, after some queens came to power in ancient times, they would always give the emperor a thumbs-up and help her brother get an official title. This was the result of her consideration for the family, which shows the power of the concept of clan.

Logically speaking, relatives should be the most loyal, but Zhu Wenzheng "acted in the opposite direction". This made Zhu Yuanzhang so angry that he had to kill him.You must know that Chen Ye first surrendered and then rebelled, and was finally "returned". For relatives, usually the superiors would give them house arrest, which was considered a severe punishment.

If word spreads, others will have no idea how unconscionable you, Zhu Yuanzhang, are. Even your own nephew is unwilling to follow you. This is extremely detrimental to his reputation, and may even affect his struggle for hegemony in the world. .

And Yan Ling's method can solve all this perfectly.

He came to the Wu Palace again, but did not go to see Zhu Yuanzhang directly. Instead, he first found a palace maid and asked him to deliver Zhu Wenzheng's letter to Princess Ma Xiuying, and then he met Wu King Zhu Yuanzhang.

Of course, when he met Zhu Yuanzhang, he told Zhu Yuanzhang without any concealment what Zhu Wenzheng had asked him to deliver the letter. At the same time, he told Zhu Yuanzhang the reason why he was so concerned. Although it was a bit obscure, Zhu Yuanzhang still He understood, and his face looked a little uncertain for a moment. He didn't expect that he had a part in it.

After sitting upright in his seat for a long time, he finally squeezed out a few words through his teeth: "You must be punished for the crime of rebellion!"

"Wen Zheng is your nephew. Do you really want to kill him?" As soon as he finished speaking, the door was opened and Ma Xiuying strode in. Yan Ling hurried to greet him, and Zhu Yuanzhang also cast his gaze over.

"Madam, after all, this is the crime of treason, and you cannot be leniently punished no matter what!" Zhu Yuanzhang still did not change his decision. He was the King of Wu after all, and the king could not be wrong. Moreover, Zhu Yuanzhang did not hear the implication of Zhu Wenzheng. This is not the reason for him to collude with Zhang Shicheng.

However, before he finished speaking, there was only a "plop" heard over there, and Ma Xiuying had already knelt down in front of him. "Wen Zheng is my brother's only bloodline. If I kill him, how can Your Highness be worthy of my brother's spirit in heaven? Wen Zheng's move is naturally a big mistake, but you are connected by blood, how can you be willing to kill him?" Ma Xiuying had tears in her eyes and her voice was trembling.

Zhu Wenzheng, Zhu Wenzhong, Zhu Ying and others were all raised by Ma Xiuying. Even if they have children of their own later, they will still be favored. She will undoubtedly not let go.

Zhu Yuanzhang remained silent, but it could be seen that he was a little shaken.

The power of marrying a wife is huge.

"How about sparing his life? Find a place with beautiful scenery and let him live peacefully for the rest of his life. We watched him grow up. He followed his mother in his early years and suffered so much. It was not easy to find you. This uncle has not enjoyed glory and wealth for a few days, is he going to die at the hands of his relatives?" Ma Xiuying kowtowed to King Wu in a dignified manner, her tears soaking the carpet.

Zhu Yuanzhang was still silent, but his lips were trembling, obviously he was also touched by Ma Xiuying's words.He stood up and paced the study.

Yan Ling saw that Zhu Yuanzhang was almost agreeing at this time, so he sent his killer move:
"Your Highness, actually the Governor's trip may not be a bad thing."

As soon as he said this, both of their eyes stayed on him. Ma Xiuying's eyes were full of expectation, while Zhu Yuanzhang was a little confused.

"How about letting the Governor make atonement for his sins? Since he has secretly communicated with Zhang Shicheng, why not let him use his plan to lure Zhang Shicheng to come. We will take the opportunity to ambush, defeat the enemy in one fell swoop, and then spread the word. The Governor is under the command of His Highness He pretended to contact the false king, and the governor avenged his sins, and your highness did not lose a close relative."

This was Yan Ling's plan. In this way, Zhu Wenzheng's "rebellion" turned into a "false surrender". If word spread, Zhu Yuanzhang's reputation would not be damaged, and he could take the opportunity to defeat Zhang Shicheng, killing two birds with one stone.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Xiuying looked at each other. Ma Xiuying was not familiar with military matters, but Zhu Yuanzhang blurted out:

"This plan is great!"

After saying that, he seemed to have come to his senses and stroked his beard:
"Since both of you have pleaded for him, I will spare his life for the time being. However, the death penalty can be avoided, but the living penalty cannot be escaped. Fifty military sticks will give him a long memory and let him see clearly who his own family is. !" With his wisdom, he could naturally see that Yan Ling's butt was also leaning towards Zhu Wenzheng's side.

"And if this guy is still thinking about the position of Grand Governor, it's just a dream. This kid... Huh! If you want to be rich, you can. After the matter is over, let him start from a small soldier to a solitary head, just to sharpen him. temperament."

"As for the position of Grand Governor..." He paused, then looked at Yan Ling:
"Ruixuan, I'll let you take my place temporarily."

　In fact, I found no evidence that Queen Ma was called Ma Xiuying. The Ming Dynasty records called her "Ma"... but that's what they call her on the Internet, so I might as well call her Ma Xiuying. After Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, he changed her name to Queen Ma.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)