Twenty-nine years ago, Taizu had just unified the world and governed the four directions.
It was also on such a rainy night that Emperor Zhou, who was still the crown prince at the time, knelt in front of Taizu's imperial study room and asked Taizu for permission to marry Meng Yunhua, the biological mother of the current prince.
At that time, the prince and the two evil men in the martial arts world, Meng Shentong's youngest daughter, Meng Yunhua, had already made a private decision for life.
Although the queens and concubines of the Great Zhou Dynasty were not required to have a distinguished background, they might have an innocent family background, but Meng Shentong was one of the two evils in the martial arts world, and his reputation, let alone being innocent, had nothing to do with the word "good".
Emperor Zhou wanted to marry such a person as his crown prince, so Taizu would naturally not agree.
Taizu had an extremely strong character and would not give in on this matter, but why wasn't Emperor Zhou like that!?
Although he looked much more elegant than Taizu, Emperor Zhou also inherited Taizu's perseverance in his heart. Once he identified Meng Yunhua, he would not change easily.
So a contest between father and son began.
Unlike today's princes, Emperor Zhou's status at that time was absolutely stable, he was the eldest son, and he participated in government affairs.
And having just eradicated Mingjiao and Hu Yu, Lan Weiyong's Taizu also had absolute control over the court.
Emperor Zhou had no way to change Taizu's decision by other means, so he knelt in front of the imperial study room in the rain one night.
For the sake of his sweetheart, he put down his dignity as a prince.
Although Taizu's heart was as strong as iron, his eldest son knelt in the rain all night and finally made Taizu compromise.
Although Taizu did not make any explicit statement, he never stopped the prince from marrying Meng Yunhua.
Meng Yunhua became the prince's first princess.
Later, Meng Shentong was captured, but for the sake of Crown Princess Meng Yunhua, the court did not kill him in the end.
The old man who grew up from a commoner to become the most powerful person in the world finally compromised on his son.
In the face of his subjects, Taizu used iron and blood methods, but Queen Xiaoci and his eldest son were the last pieces of softness in his heart.
Listening to the continuous sound of rain hitting the tiles, Emperor Zhou also hesitated.
The same rainy night, the same plea for mercy.
He went from a prince kneeling at the door to an emperor sitting in the imperial study room hesitating and having a hard time making decisions.
"Hey!" Emperor Zhou sighed. He didn't expect that what he did back then would be done by his son now. At this time, Emperor Zhou felt like Taizu's state of mind.
I hate that iron cannot become steel, but there is nothing I can do about it!
"Brother, the prince is just doing this for the love in his heart, just like the former emperor did to Queen Xiaoci, and the emperor did to Queen Wenmu. After all, he is a young man!"
When Emperor Zhou heard this, he looked at his fourteenth emperor.
When it comes to talent and talent, the fourteenth son of a concubine can be regarded as outstanding among the princes of the late emperor.
After Emperor Zhou and King Zhao, it was Zhu Yilan who was the king of the county.
But back then, Zhu Wuwu was deprived of his throne by Taizu and demoted to a marquis because of a woman.
If Emperor Zhou hadn't interceded, Taizu would have been punished even more severely.
Looking at it this way, it seems that everyone in Lao Zhu’s family has to go through a love disaster!
"Ignore it, tell me, what should I do?!"
In front of Zhu Wuwu, Emperor Zhou put down his mask. At this moment, he was just a troubled father.
Zhu Wuwu was silent for a moment, "Brother Emperor, it's raining heavily outside. Although the prince has some martial arts skills, his internal strength is still shallow. It's better to let him come in first! Listen to what he said."
Zhu Mingli knew that when the emperor asked this question, he was already shaken, but he needed someone to help him say this.
As expected, Emperor Zhou nodded after hearing this and said, "Cao Zhengchun, go and ask the prince to get up and see me in the study."
Just when Cao Zhengchun was about to leave, Emperor Zhou suddenly added, "It's rainy and cold in late autumn. Let him take a bath first, change into dry clothes, and then ask the imperial kitchen to prepare a bowl of ginseng soup."
"My slave obeys the order!"
When Zhu Wuli heard the words, he also saluted and said, "Brother Emperor, it's already late at night, so I'll take my leave first. Brother Emperor, please also pay attention to your health and rest early."
Just when Zhu Wuli was about to resign, he was stopped by Emperor Zhou.
"Fourteen, you don't have to leave in a hurry. In terms of seniority, you are the prince's uncle. Stay and listen to what the prince said?!"
Emperor Zhou had complicated feelings towards his younger brother Zhu, and regarded him as a fellow brother.
Zhu Wuwu was born as a concubine, and his mother-in-law died not long after giving birth to him.
The young Zhu Wuwu was raised by Empress Xiaocigao.
Although the two were not the same mother, they were actually better than their brothers. Zhu Wuwu was deprived of his royal title by Taizu, but in the third year after Emperor Zhou ascended the throne, Zhu Wuwu was restored to the throne and granted the title of Prince of Linping County.
In addition, Zhu Wuwu's authority was increased, the scale of Hulong Villa was expanded, and the power of investigation was given.
It is also because of the foundation of the Guangwen Department of Dali Temple and the support of Emperor Zhou that Hulong Villa has become the largest intelligence agency in the world today.
Regarding Zhu Wuwu, Emperor Zhou was 90% trustful and 100% suspicious.
And this suspicion is just the basic logic of Weijun.
Being alone means being unable to treat anyone with all your sincerity except yourself.
Especially those with royal blood.
People like Yang Qingyuan and Yu Yanyi were still powerful ministers even if they did not respect the emperor as long as the people's support for the Great Zhou Dynasty was still intact.
In a certain year of the Later Han Dynasty, the people's support was lost. It took Cao Wei two generations to usurp the Han Dynasty, let alone today's Great Zhou Dynasty.
As for the eunuchs such as Yuhuatian and Cao Zhengchun, the power in their hands comes from the emperor, and they are even products that the emperor can support to fight against the civil servant group.
Even though they may seem to have overwhelming power, when the time comes, it only takes one sentence to remove their power.
Even if they are masters of the Dongxuan Realm, they can only protect themselves, but not the power in their hands.
However, Zhu Wuwu and King Zhao are different. Regardless of whether they are legitimate concubines, they are both of the blood of Taizu. A royal rebellion like theirs is very likely to succeed.
About half an hour later, the prince had changed his clothes and came to the imperial study room.
"I've met my father, I've met my uncle!"
As soon as the prince entered the imperial study, he saw that only Zhu Wuwu and Emperor Zhou were left in the huge imperial study.
The rest of the chamberlains had been dismissed by Emperor Zhou.
Emperor Zhou looked at the prince standing at the foot of the steps, but he didn't speak for a while, not knowing what to say.
Zhu Wuwu also saw Emperor Zhou's hesitation at this time.
He coughed slightly and then said: "Your Highness, you came to the palace late at night to ask for an audience with the emperor. What do you mean?"
As Zhu Wuliang spoke, the awkward atmosphere in the imperial study room was broken.
Emperor Zhou's expression was also solemn.
"Tell me about it!"
After pondering for a while, the prince immediately knelt down and said: "My son, I beg your father to spare his life in the Wannian County case that Yang Qingyuan, the young minister of Dali Temple, was re-investigating."
Although Emperor Zhou knew that the prince wanted to plead for Zhou Mingsheng, he did not expect that the prince would be so direct and ask for Zhou Mingsheng's life.
Emperor Zhou became angry again.
"Just because of the Crown Princess, you don't even have the most basic knowledge of good and evil!?"
Emperor Zhou was deeply taught by Taizu and he still paid great attention to the people.
No matter Zhou Mingsheng committed a series of crimes such as deceiving the emperor and destroying evidence, his crime of killing hundreds of civilians was enough to make Emperor Zhou murderous.
The prince seemed to know that his words would arouse Emperor Zhou's anger, but he did not hesitate at all.
"Father, please ask Rong Erchen to plead his case!"
The prince knelt on the ground and couldn't bend down, but he spoke loudly and didn't seem to show any weakness.
"Okay! I'll give you a chance to talk and see what truth you can come up with!"
The prince lowered his head and smiled slightly from an angle that Emperor Zhou couldn't see. As long as Emperor Zhou gave him a chance to speak, he was 80% sure of what would happen today.
"My son admits that he came here to plead for mercy because of Mingyu's request, but at the same time, it is also for the sake of the father! I also ask the father to be wise!"
"Haha?! For my sake, I have to listen carefully!"
Emperor Zhou was so angry at the prince's words that he laughed. It was clearly for the sake of his children's personal relationship, regardless of the court's laws, but he could be said so righteously by the prince.
"My father is so generous, and I will not deny it. I have my own reasons for stopping Mr. Yang, the young minister of Dali Temple, but more importantly, it is for the dignity of my father. Zhou Mingsheng cannot kill him! At least, he cannot use Li Shouxian.
"Zhou Mingsheng killed people and created unjust cases, and he will never be redeemed by death! If he was killed just because of this, neither his son nor Mingyu would have anything to say! But now Zhou Mingsheng's case involves not only himself, but also the court
His dignity and the reputation of his father!"
Emperor Zhou's political vision was so sharp that he already knew what the prince wanted to say next.
"If Zhou Mingsheng is to be executed because of Li Shou's case, it means that the court tried the wrong case of Li Shou! A case that sounded the drum of Dengwen according to Taizu's instructions was finally tried wrong! How is this?
What a ridiculous thing!?”
Emperor Zhou's face also looked a little ugly.
Li Shou, after ten thousand years of county trials, Ministry of Punishment review, Dali Temple inspection, and personal review by a special task force set up by the Metropolitan Procuratorate, he didn't expect that so many people could not find out the problem. Let's face it, the court is indeed facing the problem.
Nothing to do with it.
"This is not as cunning as Zhou Mingsheng, using your connections to resist the imperial investigation?! Now you have the nerve to talk about this?!"
The prince wanted to change the concept secretly, but Emperor Zhou saw through it at a glance. The so-called loss of majesty of the imperial court was not directly caused by the imperial court.
It was Zhou Mingsheng who was deliberately creating an unjust case, calculated deliberately and unintentionally, and it was difficult for the officials to find out.
"Father, of course I know that Zhou Mingsheng is guilty of serious crimes, but now that things have happened, what the court should do is how to remedy it. Even killing Zhou Mingsheng cannot change the fact that the case is wrong. It is better to make the mistake right!"
Emperor Zhou hesitated slightly when he heard the words. The first half of the prince's words made sense, but the second half made Emperor Zhou extremely unhappy.
After thinking for a long time, Emperor Zhou slowly spoke.
"You want me to let Li Shou's case become an unjust case for the sake of the so-called face of the imperial court?! If I act in this way, wouldn't there be more people who threaten the imperial court in this way?! We must not treat such treacherous people with contempt.
! Of course, I don’t think that the so-called face of the court is more important than the justice of hundreds of lives.”
Although Emperor Zhou still had a scolding tone, the prince could already hear the wavering in Emperor Zhou's tone.
These hundreds of people are already dead after all!
Dead people are worthless!
Of course Emperor Zhou knew what to do to be more beneficial to the Zhou Dynasty, but under the education of Taizu and Empress Xiaocigao, Emperor Zhou was not only a good emperor but also a good person.
The prince once again grabbed the ground with his head, "Father, what I said below is highly disrespectful. Please forgive me, father."
"I forgive you for not being guilty, just say it!"
The prince did not dare to stand up, so he knelt down and said, "If my father were in his prime at this time, I would never stop him from re-opening Li Shou's case! But now..."
The prince did not dare to continue, but Emperor Zhou already understood.
The second half of the sentence is, but now, his time is running out.
It is almost no secret that Emperor Zhou was in poor health. The prince knew it and the officials also knew it.
This was also the case, so after Yang Qingyuan broke the balance between the prince and the king of Chu, Emperor Zhou did not deliberately try to restore it.
Because he also needed to confirm an heir in due course.
The prince does not have any major shortcomings except that he dotes on his concubine Zhou Mingyu too much. Although he may not necessarily become the Lord of Saints, he is more than enough to be a loyal king.
Under such circumstances, if Emperor Zhou's reputation was tarnished, it would be difficult to repair it.
If it had been ten years ago, Emperor Zhou would have retried the case without hesitation. It was just an unjust case, and Emperor Zhou would have had plenty of opportunities to erase and make up for it.
The former Emperor Taizong Wen of the Tang Dynasty killed his brother and rebelled against his father to win the throne, but his achievements could not be covered up in the slightest.
Cultivate political principles internally and expand territory externally.
A mere stain is nothing to him! He doesn't even bother to cover it up.
Emperor Zhou originally had such pride, but now he has no time.
Emperor Zhou knew very well about his own body. After decades of hard work in government affairs, his body was already on the verge of collapse.
There is no time left for him to slowly erase this stain and make up for his mistakes.
If the case is allowed to be retried, his achievements in the first half of his life will be questioned in the history books of later generations.
Thinking of this, Emperor Zhou hesitated.
The prince continued to add, "The benevolence of my father is comparable to that of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty. How can he be stigmatized for this matter!?"
Although Emperor Zhou was a good man, he wanted to be a good emperor, just like Emperor Wen of the previous Han Dynasty, and he had been learning from Emperor Wen of the previous Han Dynasty.
Emperor Wen always thought of the most virtuous, upholding Heaven's heart, advocating benevolence and righteousness, sparing punishment, clearing the Liang, far and near, respecting the virtuous as a distinguished guest, loving the people as an innocent son, being forgiving and affectionate, and giving them to the sea, so that the prisons were empty.
The world is at peace.
Those who are three generations or younger are called emperors and sages, and they are also called Emperor Wen.
Emperor Zhou knew that immortality was unrealistic, and what he longed for most now was to receive the posthumous title of Emperor Wen after his death.
However, the impact of Li Shou's case continues to expand, and it is possible that even this wish will not be achieved.
Abuse of punishments and unjust cases, how can they still deserve the word "literary"?!
Everyone is selfish, and Emperor Zhou was no exception.
The prince gave him a good excuse to exempt Zhou Mingsheng from the death penalty.
At this moment Emperor Zhou's mind had been shaken!