[Lightscreen]
[In truth, if Old Zhu had casually said that Lan Yu intended to rebel, most people would probably have believed it.
After all, from a logical standpoint, once Zhu Biao died, the only possible heirs were Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Yuntong. One was fifteen, the other sixteen. If they fell into Lan Yu's hands, they would be clay to be kneaded as he pleased.
And considering Old Zhu's habit of striking first, from a logical standpoint Lan Yu would already have been forced into a corner. The possibility that he might stake everything on a desperate gamble certainly existed.
But that possibility absolutely does not resemble what was recorded in Records of the Treacherous Ministers, where a group of old scholars, kiln workers, fishermen, rice sellers, and the like supposedly gathered in a room to plot some grand conspiracy.
To put it bluntly, that method of framing charges is almost insulting to people's intelligence.]
For Zhu Yuanzhang, the keen eye he had honed through a year of handling memorials with relentless intensity had finally found significant use.
The Guo Huan case had already been kept in mind earlier, but for Zhu Yuanzhang such a case was one that had to be investigated and dealt with sooner or later. Because of that, it was not something he needed to worry about immediately.
Lan Yu's arrogance and the way he allowed his troops to ravage the passes made Zhu Yuanzhang frown deeply. Yet since those events had not actually happened yet, they could be set aside for the time being.
When the two were compared, however, Zhu Yuanzhang felt more and more that the Xu Da brothers deserved to be cherished.
What use was it to simply be good at fighting?
What truly mattered was the ability to become a model for military officials, to possess the bearing of a great general. From this point of view, even though Lan Yu had the merit of destroying the remnants of the Yuan, in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart he was still inferior to Xu Da.
And if the Chang Yuchun brothers had not suffered that unfortunate fate...
Shaking his head to cast aside the irrelevant sentiment, Zhu Yuanzhang treated the earlier jokes about "the Emperor swinging a golden hoe" and "the Crown Princess baking flatbread in the Eastern Palace" as if they had never existed.
That so called Records of the Treacherous Ministers would never be compiled.
The whole matter was nothing but baseless fabrication.
Setting aside those matters, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately voiced his disagreement with the statement that the heir after Zhu Biao would not be his grandson:
"At that time Xiongying should have already undergone his coming of age ceremony. Why would he not be able to become the heir?"
Though he spoke those words, Zhu Biao seemed to hear in his father's tone a kind of hollow strength.
The one who reacted even faster than Zhu Biao was Empress Ma. Yet for a moment she did not know what to say. She could only tighten her grip on her husband's hands and lean her head toward him.
She heard him take several hurried breaths, as if forcing air through his chest. Then he let out a long sigh and spoke with a trace of desolation to his somewhat at a loss eldest son.
"Perhaps, as the descendants said, I have slaughtered too much, leaving misfortune behind for you, so that both father and son must suffer the pain of losing sons."
Zhu Biao felt his throat tighten.
Such weakness from his father was rarely seen. Yet every time he saw it, his heart felt as though it were being cut by knives.
"Father..."
After calling out once, Zhu Biao turned his head and softly called again.
"Xiongying."
Although this son bore a formidable name, he had been quiet and reserved since birth. He had inherited none of the martial vigor of either his father or the Prince of Kaiping. Instead, he loved reading and had little interest in military matters.
Zhu Biao had once comforted himself about this.
His father had ruled the realm with ferocity. When he himself ascended the throne, he would govern with leniency.
With severity and leniency complementing each other in this way, once Xiongying began to participate in government affairs he could practice benevolent governance and spread virtue among the people, following the example of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing.
In such circumstances, there was no need for him to understand military matters too deeply. Even if his constitution was somewhat weak, it would not matter.
But now it seemed possible that this slight indulgence had prevented Xiongying from strengthening his body.
Zhu Biao did not know.
Yet he knew what he should do at this moment. He extended his hand toward his seven year old son.
"Do not be afraid or worried. Your father is here."
Zhu Xiongying looked at the strange expressions on the faces of his uncles, which carried a trace of regret. He looked at the faint sorrow on his grandfather's face.
He approached carefully and wrapped his arms around his father's waist.
From the gradually tightening embrace, it seemed that the child had already understood something.
At the very least, he understood that some misfortune would befall him.
But perhaps that was also good.
Zhu Biao forced away the gloom in his chest, lowered his head, and showed a smile.
"Xiongying, starting tomorrow you will practice boxing with your father. How about it?"
Seeing the small head nod, Zhu Biao's smile became much lighter.
Very well.
Everything would simply proceed step by step.
However, this made Zhu Bai cheer.
"Elder Brother, I also want to practice martial exercises with my nephew to strengthen the body. Is that alright?"
Zhu Biao looked at his twelfth brother, who was about the same age as his son. Then he thought about how, according to the light screen earlier, several younger brothers had not even been born yet. Considering his father's age again, he almost felt like praising his father's vigor just as the Fourth Brother had done.
But why had Fourth Brother not returned yet?
Had he already finished eating?
Seeming to understand the glance from his son, Zhu Yuanzhang coughed.
Thinking about how he had just laughed together with the light screen at Emperor Gaozu of Tang being raised like a breeding stallion, he felt an urge to cover his forehead.
In any case, these small matters successfully dispelled the unpleasant atmosphere.
They also caused Zhu Yuanzhang to finally begin considering other things.
Of Zhu Biao's two sons, which one would he establish?
He already had an answer in his heart.
But would there be concerns about a young ruler and a doubtful state?
Perhaps that was why the great purge had begun.
No wonder the uncle and nephew had appeared so close.
The Emperor silently felt as though some of the mist had been cleared away.
Yet the parts he could not fully explain seemed to have grown even more numerous.
Thus he silently raised his head.
---
[Lightscreen]
[Since Lan Yu did not die because of arrogance, nor because of rebellion, it is hardly surprising that the Lan Yu case was closely tied to Zhu Biao's death.
As for why the work was done so crudely, it was most likely related to age.
When dealing with Hu Weiyong, Old Zhu was still in his prime. He could therefore kill with a soft blade, planning step by step until the dagger was finally revealed.
By the time of the Lan Yu case, Old Zhu did not have much time left. So his methods were swift and ruthless, emphasizing cutting the knot with a sharp knife.
Some have even speculated that Records of the Treacherous Ministers itself was a manifestation of Zhu Yuanzhang's senile dementia. But that is pure nonsense.
After all, when Old Zhu handled the Northern and Southern Examination Lists case, it was already the thirtieth year of the Hongwu era. There was not the slightest sign of senility.
One can only say that the book was probably compiled much like the History of Yuan: rushed, crude, and done in great haste.
Old Zhu merely reviewed it, but unfortunately his ability in that regard had never been particularly good, which ultimately produced such a thing.
But that goes too far afield.
In essence, if one looks back at the Hu and Lan cases, they can actually be regarded as a single whole.
In this great case that stretched across half of the Hongwu reign, Zhu Yuanzhang displayed political methods far surpassing his military talent, demonstrating clearly that killing was not the goal but merely a means.
Beginning with the Hu Weiyong case, the extremely simple yet effective method of "pull one faction, stabilize one faction, kill one faction" was repeated again and again in Zhu Yuanzhang's hands, ultimately achieving the complete eradication of the Ming nobility.
In the first stage, he used the nobility as a blade to destroy the Secretariat and the Chief Military Commission. At the same time he eliminated surrendered nobles such as Kang, Zhu, and Hu, ensuring the interests of the Huaiyou nobles. Naturally no one opposed it. A group of new nobles was then enfeoffed, leaving every side satisfied.
In the second stage, the newly grown nobles were used as blades to clear out the already corrupted old Huai faction. In the Li Shanchang case, as many as twenty two noble families were implicated under the name of the Hu case. Yet the twenty noble dukes and marquises enfeoffed after the third year of Hongwu remained almost entirely intact. This can be verified in historical records.
Under normal circumstances, these cultivated nobles who had already gone through a period of adjustment with Zhu Biao would have become the best supporting faction.
But with Zhu Biao's sudden death, those plans had to change.
Thus Old Zhu entered the third stage.
In the Lan Yu case, seventeen noble families were implicated, all of them new nobles enfeoffed after the third year of Hongwu. With this, they were all wiped out in one sweep.
Although this weakened the Ming state, since the external threats had already been eliminated, Zhu Yuanzhang evidently did not think it was a problem.
What Old Zhu probably did not expect was that even after such painstaking effort, Zhu Yunwen would still manage to overturn everything.
One could say he was both incompetent and overly fond of meddling.
From another perspective, however, if Old Zhu had not carried out this three stage purge, whether Zhu Di could have successfully raised the banner in the name of Heaven and become the Yongle Emperor would still be uncertain.
After all, if Lan Yu had been alive, whether Zhu Di would have dared or been able to overturn the table would still be questionable.
On the other hand, in such circumstances Lan Yu would clearly not have obeyed Zhu Yunwen either, even if Zhu Yunwen had been replaced by Zhu Yuntong.
From this hypothetical deduction, one thing becomes increasingly certain.
From the moment Zhu Biao died, the outbreak of the Lan Yu case was only a matter of time.]