Chapter 558: The unexpected mastermind behind the scenes
., update the latest chapters as soon as possible!
On the Mongolian grasslands.
Zhu Di led the march, followed by Zhang Yu and Zhu Neng.
Information about the Japanese state, involving Zhu Di's eldest son Zhu Gaochi, would naturally be sent over.
"My lord, could it be that Prince Jin was responsible? After all, he and the prince have always been very difficult to deal with." Zhang Yu asked.
Zhu Neng, who also knew the content of the intelligence, looked confused.
The intelligence just now clearly mentioned Japanese assassins, so why did it involve King Jin?
Zhu Neng, who had well-developed limbs, understood that there must be something he didn't understand, so he just kept silent and listened to Zhang Yu and the prince talking.
Zhu Di's face was a little gloomy. After hearing this, he said: "It's not Lao San. Although Lao San has always hated me very much, this kind of thing is not something Lao San can do."
"It's just that Lao Qi doesn't seem like someone who would attack my eldest son. Everyone knows that this will definitely violate my father's taboo."
"True or false, false or true, I think it's really possible that it was done by the Japanese country."
"But if it reaches this level, Lao San and Lao Qi can't escape suspicion no matter what. There must be a Japanese traitor."
"And this person definitely knows a lot about our royal affairs, otherwise he wouldn't have such a method."
Zhu Di's voice contained confirmation of his own inference.
After all, they are all brothers who grew up together. This does not mean that they are involved in any battle for the throne.
The overseas vassal states seemed to be outside the Ming Dynasty, but in fact they were also restricted and controlled by the Ming Dynasty to a great extent.
Once an edict has passed, what will happen to the so-called vassal state?
To a large extent, it was very difficult for the feudal lord to develop.
In a vassal state, the first thing to face is the threat from external forces, as well as the handling of internal affairs.
Once the Ming Dynasty loses its support, it will be as malicious as an ambush from all sides.
It was precisely because Zhu Di understood this that he was willing to give up his special vassal state and come to the grassland to become a general.
"Your Majesty, can we ask for your Majesty's permission to go to Japan?"
"After all, no matter what, it is the foundation of the prince."
Zhang Yu asked after hesitating for a moment.
The current situation in the grasslands, especially in terms of military power, even though it has been liberalized, there are too many restrictions in all aspects, and it is not possible to control the hearts of the soldiers as before.
A large number of middle-level officers who have studied at the Ming Military Academy are very good at using them, but they also control the lower-level soldiers.
Normally it doesn't matter. Any dispute involving the superiors is simply not something that can be controlled.
Even if you want to bribe one or two people, it doesn't make much sense, because according to the current trend, everyone can see that a large number of mid-level officers will graduate from the Ming Military Academy every year.
These people are naturally from the Taisun faction.
If you can recruit several people, ten people, how can you buy hundreds or thousands of people?
With the issuance of an edict, Zhu Di could easily be relieved of his military power without any ability to resist.
Even Zhu Di admired this method.
He never thought that Zhu Ying did not choose to win over these heroes and generals, but instead started with middle-level officers.
At this point, there is no rival.
It should be noted that no matter how powerful a general is, his achievements are not dependent on his own force, but on an extremely powerful and obedient army.
After hearing these words, Zhu Di stopped his horse for the time being.
Looking forward, he saw the hundreds of households and general bannermen at the head of the army.
These people are the true cornerstone of an army.
There was a bit of complexity and unwillingness in Zhu Di's eyes.
After a while, he said: "No need, the situation on the grassland is tense now. Although Beiyuan Nahaohai Tatsuyu is not very capable, he is constantly encouraging tribes from all sides to ambush our army."
"If you leave the grassland and go to the Japanese country at this point, all your efforts will be in vain."
"I believe that Gao Chi can handle the affairs in Yancheng of the Japanese country well. With this lesson, the defense of the Yan Palace will be more complete."
Finished.
Zhu Di didn't hesitate anymore, raised his riding whip, hit the horse's side, and galloped away.
Zhang Yuzhu Neng looked at each other and left with him.
The form of the grassland is not as good as expected.
Whether it was Zhu Di or Lan Yu, they also faced supply problems while going deep into the grasslands.
The long supply line can easily be attacked by the prairie cavalry, and the current situation of continuously absorbing the population has made all the prairie nobles become frightened and began to unite.
It was a big blow to Zhu Di and Lan Yu.
During this period, we encountered several tough battles.
Although they finally won, they suffered a lot of losses.
This is a head-on fight, and no one can escape easily. Even in the past few days, Zhu Di was almost hit by an arrow.
There were also many injuries on his body.
The war has begun to heat up.
...
Japanese country.
Jin Palace.
Jin Wang Zhu Fan's expression showed a somewhat violent feeling.
Ever since he came to Jincheng and stayed away from the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Fan naturally felt a little more relaxed.
It is said that the country is easy to change, but the nature is difficult to change.
Without the suppression of his father and Zhu Ying, Zhu Fan revealed his cruel nature for many conveniences.
Non-my family, its heart must be different.
Under the guidance of these words, the Japanese nobles and people in Jincheng did not have a good life.
wrong.
In other words, within the current jurisdiction of Jincheng, there is no such thing as Japanese nobles.
The first thing Zhu Fan did when he returned to Japan was to destroy all the nobles of Japan.
Without noble status, they are worse than ordinary civilians, especially those ronin warriors, who are forced to become civilians.
After collecting the weapons, they became better laborers.
Under absolutely suppressive force, resistance has no meaning at all.
The implementation of the continuous sitting system was very effective in Japan.
If one person makes a mistake, the whole group will be punished, and they are suppressed without any temper.
The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty had no mercy towards such foreigners.
Before the Japanese were conquered, the numerous crimes committed by the Japanese pirates at the Ming Dynasty's coastal border had long been widely publicized.
At that time, it was to boost morale, but now it has become a moral in the heart.
It's just that today's Jinwang Palace seems a bit depressing.
Zhu Fan suppressed his anger from above, looked at the ministers and generals under his command, and asked in a cold voice: "As for the assassination of my nephew, I told you that there are people in Jincheng who are involved."
"If you tell me honestly now, you will be the only one who will die. If I wait until the king finds out that there is a connection, all members of your family, young and old, will definitely be killed."
"There are also those who know some of the secrets. If they are found out and fail to report the knowledge, they will be guilty of the same crime!"
Zhu Gaochi was assassinated, and Zhu Fan was only stunned for a moment before he quickly reacted.
This will inevitably lead to the suspicion of Master Huang in the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Fan's temperament was of course fearless, but the one he feared the most was his father.
He knew how ruthless his father was. If he had not made a mistake when his eldest brother interceded, the prince might have been cut off.
The fight between uncle and nephew is the biggest taboo in the heart of the father. Once it is recognized, it will definitely be a storm comparable to a tsunami.
Not to mention this overseas vassal country, it would be a good thing if he is not demoted to a commoner. It is very likely that he will be recalled to the capital and imprisoned.
Now Zhu Fan feels the joy of overseas life, the most unrestrained time.
Besides, with the help of His Highness Taisun's Chamber of Commerce, there is nothing to worry about financially. If he is unjustly imprisoned in the capital, it will be a huge grievance.
No matter how cruel Zhu Fan was, he would not kill his nephew.
Although I despise the fourth child very much, I have never thought about what to do. I just hope to get the approval of my father.
What he fears most now is that the ministers and soldiers under his command are unruly and have made trouble without authorization, implicating himself in it.
Zhu Fan, who was sitting on the throne, stared fiercely at everyone's facial expressions carefully.
Those who looked at him naturally lowered their heads in fear.
This feeling made Zhu Fan even more panicked. At first glance, it seemed like everyone was suspected.
Damn it, my father wouldn't doubt me in the same way.
At this moment, Zhu Fan suddenly had a feeling that he could not wash away even if he jumped into the Yellow River.
It even felt like the message of scolding from my father was already on its way to Jincheng.
"No, I have to do something, otherwise it will be bad if my father misunderstands me."
Zhu Fan, who usually didn't frown even when fighting on the battlefield, felt cold sweat break out on his forehead after feeling anxious about himself.
He was very aware of his father's jealous and suspicious character, and he also understood that he had never had a good impression in his father's heart.
In addition, his discord with his fourth son was an open secret, so he didn't dare to think about what the consequences would be.
"I just hope that my eldest nephew can say a few kind words for me in front of my father."
After a lucky break, Zhu Fan immediately stood up and announced: "Get your horses ready immediately. My nephew has been assassinated, and I must visit him personally."
...
Zhu Shu here in Qicheng is not feeling very well either.
"Father, I don't think I'm the one causing trouble. If you are suspicious, it's probably the third brother."
"We all know that the third brother and the fourth brother have a lot of conflicts. Although the fourth brother and I are not very close, we have nothing against each other. It makes no sense for me to do such a thing."
"No, my father will definitely think too much about this kind of thing. In this Japanese country, my third brother and I are the most likely to do it."
"Could it be that it's really the third brother?"
After thinking about it for a while, Zhu Shu decided to go to Third Brother's place to have a talk.
If it was really the third brother, then he would have to be careful.
As soon as he left, Zhu Fu immediately ordered his men to prepare their horses and led the cavalry straight to Jincheng.
If you don't go and see things like this for yourself, you will really feel uneasy.
....
"What, third brother went to Yancheng?"
After spending two days arriving at Jincheng, Zhu Shu did not expect to hear such news.
"Could it be that Third Brother wants to inquire about the situation in Jincheng?"
"So it seems that it was really the third brother who did it?"
"No, I have to go take a look too."
Zhu Shu immediately turned around and set off towards Yancheng.
He felt that his trip to Yancheng would definitely yield unimaginable gains.
.....
As far as the Japanese country is concerned, the most stressful thing about Zhu Gaochi's assassination is of course the Japanese royal family.
To be more precise, it should be Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.
For Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the Japanese country had already been severely beaten by the Ming Dynasty, and there was still a lot of compensation here.
And now the people who are going to assassinate the Ming Dynasty Crown Prince are still Japanese.
"Your Excellency, General, this must be a conspiracy of the Ming people themselves. They must be looking for an excuse to launch an attack to invade our country of Japan again."
"That's right, General, this was definitely not done by our people. Under such circumstances, how could we assassinate the crown prince of Ming Dynasty? Wouldn't this be causing trouble for ourselves?"
On the Ashikaga Yoshimitsu side, there are a large number of daimyo.
For this matter, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu summoned all the daimyo who had the ability to accomplish this matter.
The purpose is to investigate clearly whose samurai family did this.
Regardless of whether they united with people from the Ming Dynasty or not, it was indeed the ninja warriors of the Japanese country who took action, which Mother Rong doubted.
He had to investigate the situation here before the Ming envoy arrived.
"There were nearly a hundred warriors who took action. It is absolutely impossible to hide such a large scale."
"Even if you are a ninja trained in secret, do you really think that no one else knows about it?"
"I hope you can take the initiative to stand up and take responsibility for this matter. When you choose to use these warriors, you should have thought of today's situation."
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu stood in front of the main hall and spoke in a low voice to the surrounding daimyo.
Dozens of people in the hall suddenly became silent.
Everyone knows that the name that can assign so many powerful warriors to attack the Yan Palace must be in this hall today.
Apart from this, no other daimyo can secretly cultivate so many warriors.
Time passed slowly, and still no one came forward, but Ashikaga Yoshimitsu had no intention of being anxious, and just waited quietly.
Finally, footsteps were heard in the hall, and a daimyo wearing gorgeous silk clothes walked out.
"Kurosawa-kun, how could it be you?"
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu said with some disbelief.
The surrounding daimyo also showed unimaginable expressions at this moment.
Because in everyone's impression, Kurosawa Daimyo was the most cautious and would not easily conflict with others. Even if something happened, he would always give in.
He has the character of a good old man.
And such a good old man actually secretly raised high-level ninja warriors, and even dared to assassinate the Ming Dynasty Crown Prince.
This and the usual impression are completely two extremes.
In fact, everyone has doubts in their hearts, including Ashikaga Yoshimitsu himself. It seems that he is sure of victory, but in fact, many candidates have been eliminated and there are only a few suspects.
However, Kurosawa Daimyo was not among the suspects.
It was even said that none of the famous names had any suspicion on him.
Holding back the shock in his heart, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu quickly asked: "Kurosawa-kun, tell me, is he the King of Qi or the King of Jin in the Ming Dynasty."