As soon as the prince came in, Boss Zhu smiled bitterly and said, "I knew these two brats would tell the truth."
"Didn't my father tell them to hide it from his sons?" The prince's tone was a bit unkind.
"As you said, we can't hide anything from the boss." Zhu Yuanzhang put down his pen, looked at the stern-looking prince with a smile and said, "What, are you here to investigate?"
"I don't dare," the prince said stiffly, "I just want to ask, how can Mr. Song, a man of noble character and unwavering loyalty, be a gangster?"
"Hey, boss, you always think too much of these old Confucians." Zhu Yuanzhang patiently explained: "It was mentioned in Tu Jie's confession that Hu Weiyong once said personally that now civil servants and scholars are all on his side.
What do you mean over there? It means that once he succeeds in his rebellion, those great scholars will argue for him."
"You think those Confucian scholars keep saying they are loyal to the emperor and patriotic, but they only love themselves. If we don't give them privileges, they will not be loyal to our king and love our country. If Hu Weiyong gives them privileges, they will be loyal to Hu Weiyong, the king.
, loves his country." Zhu Yuanzhang became more and more angry as he spoke, and said with a long face:
"Hu Weiyong only dared to take risks after reaching a tacit understanding with them. Otherwise, even if he succeeded in rebelling, Baiguan and Shilin could drown him with just one spit of foam."
"My father always speculates on scholars with the greatest malice." The prince said speechlessly: "But you can't use speculation to convict people."
"How could it be speculation?" Zhu Yuanzhang snorted: "At the beginning, these old Confucian scholars secretly collaborated in an attempt to get rid of Song Ne and control Guozixue. Is this always true?"
"This year they have been against Lao Liu and want to strangle Guozi University to death. Is this always true?"
"Not to mention, they have been against us all these years and want to brainwash you in an attempt to restore his Confucian status. Isn't this a lie?!"
"..." The prince cannot refute these words, because the first two are facts. As for the third, the former emperor expelled Wu Bozong, Song Zan and other officials from the East Palace because of this.
Seeing that the prince did not speak, Zhu Yuanzhang's expression softened slightly and he said in a slower tone: "In fact, the harm of letting Confucianism go is greater than letting Hu Weiyong go. The prime minister just wants to snatch the power from the emperor's hands, but Confucianism wants to control the emperor's thoughts. If they succeed,
Our old Zhu family will become their puppets for generations to come, and the entire Ming Dynasty will be corrupted by them."
"Don't always think that Song Lian is a good guy. Regardless of his character and conduct, just say that he has already retired and is still running to Beijing. Do you think he really has deep feelings for us? What if he has feelings for us?
If you have feelings, you won't organize people to kneel down and force you to have a baby!" As a result, Boss Zhu got angry again as he spoke.
The prince knew that his father could not bear the thought of being forced into the palace, so he sighed and said: "Mr. Song was not involved in the incident of kneeling at the door. He came to Beijing to calm the situation and prevent it from getting out of hand."
"He told you that?" Zhu Yuanzhang gave the prince a sideways glance.
"Yes." The prince nodded.
"Hmph! The civil servants, headed by Taishi of the Song Dynasty, would not believe it if they said he had no intention of him!" Zhu Yuanzhang firmly believed in his own judgment: "He deliberately came a day late to avoid suspicion."
"My father is using malicious intent to speculate on Mr. Song again," the prince said helplessly.
"It's not an exaggeration to speculate on them with the greatest malice!" Zhu Yuanzhang raised his voice and said: "If we don't take this opportunity to kill the chickens and scare the monkeys, they won't know how high the sky is!"
"I will definitely kill this Song Lian!" Boss Zhu emphasized after finishing speaking.
"No!" The prince was so anxious that he slapped the table to keep Song Lian's determination unshakable. "Even if it's not personal reasons, Mr. Song will definitely not be able to kill him!"
"We are already at loggerheads with the scholars all over the world. Fortunately, there is Mr. Song who understands the general situation and is a scholar leader who takes the overall situation into consideration. If we kill him, no scholar will speak for us anymore." He raised his voice as he spoke.
Said: "Throughout the ages, I have never seen a dynasty that completely broke with scholars last long!"
"..." This was the second time Zhu Yuanzhang saw the prince blushing and having a thick neck. The last time was the funeral for Concubine Sun.
Boss Zhu was so angry that he became angry and his eyes widened, but that was all...
At that time, he could draw his sword and kill the prince in anger, but after so many years, the prince had grown into the pillar of the family and the executive deputy emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang could no longer treat him like he did back then.
"If the father does not agree, the son will go to the mother to ask for help." The prince used his trump card again.
"You brat don't follow martial arts ethics, right?" Boss Zhu immediately gave up and said angrily: "We are here to eliminate hidden dangers for you. If you don't appreciate it, forget it. Why do you want to make us suffer?"
"My son, I am also anxious." The prince accepted it and said, "As long as my father is able to show mercy and forgive others, I promise that I will not tell my mother."
"Okay, okay, then instead of killing Song Lian and his son, let's exile them to the Sichuan-Guizhou border." Zhu Yuanzhang finally gave way with difficulty: "Besides, the barbaric land needs the enlightenment of saints. Mr. Song and his son have a lot to do."
"That's too humiliating." The prince frowned dissatisfied and said, "Based on Erchen's understanding of Mr. Song, he will never suffer such humiliation."
"Then what else can he do, hang himself and wipe his neck?" Zhu Yuanzhang snorted.
"It's really possible." The prince said solemnly: "If the father wants to pardon, then give him a complete pardon and let him live in peace at home. Otherwise it will be worse than not pardoning. People will say that we don't dare to kill Song Lian in public, so we can only use this method.
Force him to death."
"If he is so fragile, let him die!" Boss Zhu said holding his breath: "Su Dongpo has been exiled for half his life, how can he still live well? As for us, let's just get scolded. Anyway, those Confucian scholars, no matter what
Everyone will scold us."
The prince also knew that asking his father to give in this step was already the limit, and forcing him to do so would be counterproductive, and he would not even give in this step. He could only sigh and said: "Then let's do this for now, but I still ask.
Father, please think twice and fully pardon Mr. Song and several other great scholars."
"When you become the emperor, then pardon them completely." Boss Zhu was really impatient and said in a stiff tone: "Now that we are the emperor, they only deserve to stay in the corner!"
"Yes, Father." The prince sighed and resigned.
"Boss, stop." Zhu Yuanzhang also felt that what he had just said was too serious, so he quickly stopped his son and said: "I told you, let us try to see if we can find a new way for Ming Dynasty. If we find the way
If there is no way to go, it won’t be too late for you to go back to the old road... Then you can bring order to the chaos, win over people’s hearts, and still not lose sight of the King and the Holy Lord."
"I understand my father's painstaking efforts." The prince nodded and said with a forced smile: "Father, don't worry, I will not give up my son."
"Hey, that's good..." Zhu Yuanzhang was not a comforting person, so he nodded and stopped talking.
