Just when Lao Zhu wanted to test Zhu Fan's temper, and Zhu Biao was waiting with peace of mind, a memorial set out from Taiyuan, Shanxi, all the way to the capital, and fell into the hands of Zhan Hui, the Minister of Civil Affairs.

As soon as Zhan Hui got the memorial, he went directly to the emperor with the memorial without waiting for the Secretary of General Affairs to report it to the emperor.

"Your Majesty, Zhan Hui, has requested to see the Emperor. Please convey the message."

"Master Zhan, please wait a moment. I will report to the emperor right now." A eunuch guarding the door of the hall bowed slightly towards Zhan Hui, then turned and walked into the hall without waiting for his reaction.

Not long after, the eunuch came back. With a whisk in his hand, he said, "The emperor has a decree to summon Lord Zhan to see you."

Zhan Hui bowed his hands in thanks and followed the eunuch into the palace.

"My lord, Zhan Hui, pays homage to the emperor. Long live my emperor."

"I love you." Lao Zhu said calmly.

Lao Zhu still likes Zhan Hui very much. He dares to fight hard and is not afraid of offending people in the officialdom. Lao Zhu values ​​​​him deeply. Otherwise, Zhan Hui would not have been able to grow from a failed scholar to a short period of time.

Within a year and a half, he became the minister of the Ministry of Personnel, the first of the six departments of the Ming Dynasty.

In fact, there is one person that Lao Zhu values ​​​​more, that is Han Du. However, although Han Du is very obedient in front of Lao Zhu, there is always a feeling that Lao Zhu is slippery.

Han Du will fulfill the orders that Lao Zhu gave Han Du to the letter. He may even find another way to complete them better.

But the bad thing is this new approach. Sometimes Lao Zhu wants to let Han Du pass some things, severely punish some officials, and even use some heads to scare chickens and monkeys.

But Han Du was able to find another way to turn this bad thing into a good thing, so that officials who should have lost their official positions or even lost their lives could finally save their lives and even avoid punishment.

This is what Lao Zhu dislikes the most.

After a lot of back and forth, Lao Zhu simply stopped looking for Han Du to do these things. He began to look for candidates again, and only then did Zhan Hui, a man who obeyed his words and dared to fight and fight, come into Lao Zhu's sight.

Zhan Hui is the second-rank minister of the imperial court, and Lao Zhu is willing to give him some face. After Zhan Hui stood up, Lao Zhu casually put aside the memorial in his hand, preparing to hear why Zhan Hui came first.

"My beloved, why are you here?"

Hearing this, Zhan Hui immediately held the memorial in both hands and said: "Your Majesty, according to the memorial in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, Wan Jin, the prefect of Taiyuan, impeached the King of Jin for hiding troops and horses and forging weapons, with the intention of treason. And he leaked the information in order to protect him, which is even more insane.

Ordered the massacre of the village, resulting in the death of more than 200 villagers, men, women, old and children at the foot of Wutai Mountain. The crime is extremely heinous. Please take a clear look at it and provide justice to the people of the world."

The expression on Lao Zhu's face suddenly froze, his eyes fixed on Zhan Hui who was bowing in obeisance, and he didn't know what to say.

Lao Zhu had never thought about making a fuss in the court about Zhu Fan's matter, thinking that he could handle the matter quietly. Although Lao Zhu also hated Zhu Fan's actions of massacring the people, but people

There is no resurrection from the dead. Moreover, Zhu Fan killed everyone, so even if he wanted to make some compensation, there was nothing he could do.

But Zhu Fan was his biological son. Although he caused such a big disaster, he couldn't behead Zhu Fan since he was his biological son after all.

It is precisely because of this that Lao Zhu kept Zhu Fan's affairs a secret. Even the court ministers did not know why the emperor recalled Zhu Fan to the capital, nor did they know that Zhu Fan was crying day and night in the palace.

.

But looking at Zhan Hui who was bowing in obeisance and the memorial in his hand, Lao Zhu knew that this matter could not be as easy as he thought.

Looking at Zhan Hui who was bowing in obeisance, Lao Zhu had no choice but to signal the old eunuch to bring up the memorial.

Of course the old eunuch knew about King Jin, but when he saw the emperor pretending to have just heard about it, he quickly kept his expression consistent with the emperor's.

Seeing the emperor taking away the memorial, Zhan Hui straightened up and said: "Your Majesty, what King Jin did is simply a violation of the world's injustice. If there is no severe punishment, where is the justice of the world? Where is the heart of the people of the world?"

"

Lao Zhu had just received the memorial handed over by the old eunuch. When he heard Zhan Hui's words, his hands couldn't help but tremble, and then everything returned to normal.

But even such a small movement was seen by the old eunuch. He straightened up and looked at Zhan Hui, sighed helplessly, and stood aside without saying a word.

Lao Zhu opened the memorial and read it carefully from beginning to end. Generally speaking, Wan Jin's impeachment was well-founded, and the content was no different from what Lao Zhu had learned.

In other words, what Zhu Fan did in Taiyuan had actually been watched for a long time.

"Your Majesty, the King of Jin not only had a rebellious intention, but also had the audacity to send people to intercept the Taiyuan magistrate's report to the court. So that after the King of Jin left Taiyuan and returned to the capital, Wan Jin could continue to report to the imperial court to impeach the King of Jin.

The King of Jin is so lawless, so I ask the Emperor to severely punish him as a warning to others." Seeing that the Emperor had not spoken for a long time, Zhan Hui couldn't help but continue.

Lao Zhu suddenly became furious and threw the memorial on the imperial case. He slapped the case and cursed angrily: "It is said that King Jin has entered the palace."

When Zhu Fan was banned in the palace

He was frightened, especially when he had been imprisoned for many days without any sign that his father would spare him, and it even frightened him to the point of trembling with fear.

Based on his understanding of the prince, even if he did such a treasonous thing, the prince would definitely intercede for him. But after so long, there was no news at all, or the prince did not intercede for him. But this is not true.

It's possible that the prince couldn't ignore him when he saw him in trouble.

Then the prince could only plead for him in front of his father, but it was of no use.

Even the prince's pleas were in vain and Zhu Fan was truly frightened in an instant.

These days in the palace, he feels uneasy every day. Now that he heard that his father finally summoned him, he thought that the prince had settled his matter and that his father had forgiven him of his mistakes.

He came to Fengtian Hall with a face full of joy. He walked in and was about to admit his mistake to his father, but suddenly he saw Zhan Hui standing here, and the prince he thought was nowhere to be seen.

Coupled with the livid look on his father's face, Zhu Fan suddenly felt cold and realized that things might not be what he thought.

"son"

Before Zhu Fan could pay his respects, Lao Zhu immediately threw the impeachment memorial at him, "You bastard, look at the good deeds you've done."

Zhu Fan didn't dare to dodge and let the memorial hit him on the head without any bias. He picked it up and opened it and saw that it was indeed a memorial to impeach him. But hadn't he told his father about these things one by one?

Before Zhu Fan could ask questions, Lao Zhu angrily took the paperweight on the imperial desk, walked down from Danbi angrily, and suddenly hit Zhu Fan with the paperweight.

Zhu Fan didn't react in time and was hit by Lao Zhu, who immediately screamed.

The paperweight in Lao Zhu's hand is made of golden nanmu. It is extremely hard, as thick as a wrist, and about two feet long. There are two paperweights in total, one on the left and one on the right. They are carved with exquisite and complicated lines.

The paperweight is full of sharp edges and corners, and it feels so sore when hit on the body.

Zhu Fan took one blow and didn't want to take another one. When he saw his father holding the paperweight high as if he was going to hit him, he quickly got up and ran away.

Zhu Fan was escaping in front, while Lao Zhu was behind him holding a paperweight and chasing after Zhu Fan, unable to fly!

"Father!" At this moment, Zhu Biao appeared at the door. Seeing the scene in front of him, he shouted quickly.

After he got the news that Zhan Hui had gone to see his father with a memorial to impeach the King of Jin, he hurried over. Unexpectedly, he saw his father beating his third brother violently.

Everyone in the hall was startled by Zhu Biao's roar. Lao Zhu and Zhan Hui all raised their heads and looked at Zhu Biao.

Zhu Fan took this opportunity and hurriedly hid behind Zhu Biao, rubbing desperately the places where his father had just hit him. These places were so painful that it was impossible not to rub them slowly.

Lao Zhu was still angry. He walked up to Zhu Biao with a paperweight and said sternly: "Get out of the way, I must beat this traitor to death today."

"Father," Zhu Biao quickly stepped forward, hugged Lao Zhu's arm, and begged: "The third brother knows that he was wrong. He has been sincerely repenting in the house these days. How about my father spare him this time?"

"Don't even think about it!" Lao Zhu was furious and was about to rush forward to hit Zhu Fan again, but fortunately, Zhu Biao stopped him.

Zhan Hui also stood up, raised his hands and said to Zhu Biao: "His Royal Highness, I know that Your Highness has always been kind and caring for all the princes. But what King Jin committed was a serious crime of treason. How can we turn a big thing into a trivial one?"

Done?"

Lao Zhu raised his head, glanced at Zhan Hui, and said suddenly: "What Zhan Aiqing said makes sense. The state has national laws, and families have family rules. Since this rebellious son dares to do such a heinous and unethical thing, he will have to bear the full responsibility for his merits and demerits."

What Lao Zhu said was plausible. In fact, if Han Du were here, he could clearly hear the implication of Lao Zhu's words: Lao Zhu also wanted to let Zhu Fan go.

Otherwise, Lao Zhu would not have said that national law is both a national law and a family rule. Of course, the national law is unforgiving, but what about family rules?

The best thing is that the Ming Dynasty belongs to Lao Zhu’s family. The national law can be the family rules, and the family rules can also be the national law.

When it is a family rule and when it is a national law, it all depends on what Lao Zhu said.

If Zhan Hui realizes this at this time and takes the initiative to give Lao Zhu a step down, then this matter may be over.

Zhu Fan was punished, and Lao Zhu was able to save his face, which can be said to be the best of both worlds.

But Zhan Hui seemed not to understand the implication of Lao Zhu's words, and directly raised his hand and said: "The emperor understands the righteousness well, which is a blessing to the people of the world. I think that the affairs of the King of Jin are important and have to be cautious. It is best to leave them to the three parties."

It is only appropriate to have a judicial trial."

If the third brother is handed over to the Tribunal for Trial, it will really be over.

"No, it cannot be tried by the three judicial departments.

"Zhu Biao immediately interrupted Zhan Hui's words, turned to his father and begged: "Father, who is not a sage and can have no faults? The third brother already knows that he is wrong, please give him a chance to reform.

If you have the opportunity, don’t hand him over to the Tri-Faculty Division for trial.”

Lao Zhu actually didn't think about what he wanted to do to Zhu Fan. He originally thought that Zhan Hui had always obeyed him, and this time would be no exception. That's why he deliberately said those words in order to make Zhan Hui know something interesting for him.

Find a place to go down the stairs and make this a big deal.

But what Lao Zhu never expected was that Zhan Hui not only failed to give him a step up, but instead captured Lao Zhu's army and blocked his retreat.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince," Zhan Hui looked at Zhu Biao seriously, "I know that Your Highness is kind-hearted by nature and loves the kings very much. He is a good brother. However, the national law is ruthless. Princes who break the law are guilty of the same crime as the common people. Even if the King of Jin is a prince,

, nor can we trample on the laws of the country. Otherwise, where is the justice in the world?"

Zhu Biao looked at Zhan Hui in shock and was speechless for a long time. In the past, he didn't like Zhan Hui's style and thought he handled affairs too harshly. Now seeing him chasing his third brother so hard, Zhu Biao was even more worried.

I felt disgusted with him in my heart.

Zhan Hui didn't know that Zhu Biao already hated him in his heart, but he still looked upright and showed an upright attitude.

Lao Zhu stared at Zhan Hui closely, trying to see him clearly.

After a while, Lao Zhu had to change his words and said: "What Zhan Aiqing said is reasonable. This traitor has made such a big mistake. How can we spare him lightly?"
To be continued...