Chapter 165: The Emperor's Journey (Part 1)

August of the 30th year of Hongwu.

On a downtown street in the west city of Beiping Prefecture, a new grain shop was quietly opened, called Dafeng Grain Store. The shopkeeper was named Wang. He was said to be from Shanxi. On the first day he entered Beiping City, he sent hundreds of large trucks full of grain and grass into the border camp outside Beiping City, and then entered the Yan Prince's Mansion alone. Later, His Highness of Yan actually sent him outside the mansion.

This rumor made the identity of the new shopkeeper Wang confused. Some people said that shopkeeper Wang had a strong relationship with King Yan, while others said that shopkeeper Wang had a big deal with King Yan and was treated well with King Yan.

There are many rumors. Under the gaze of respectful or awe of the merchants in Peking, the Dafeng Grain Store came into being and soon became a foothold in Peking. The identity of the shopkeeper Wang of the Grain Store is still so mysterious.

Someone who is interested noticed that since the Dafeng Grain Train was added to the Beiping Prefecture, large grain transport trucks were often seen in the military camp outside the city, carrying grain into the camp full of grain. The cart was filled with flags of the "Dafeng Grain Train" and flew in the wind.

Everything remains calm.

Zhu Di was training troops in Beiping, Xiao Fan was busy expanding the Jinyiwei and deploying the intelligence network from the capital to the north. The court in the capital was harmonious, and Zhu Yuanzhang was old and his health was getting worse day by day. All government affairs were basically handed over to Zhu Yunwen.

The civil and military ministers of the court now did not care about intrigue, and their eyes were fixed on Zhu Yuanzhang at the same time.

Everyone knows that Zhu Yuanzhang is about to fail, and once he dies, the court will inevitably face a reshuffle, and power and interests will be redistributed. Today's glory in the officialdom may be down and out, which does not mean that tomorrow will still be down and out.

As a result, the ministers' private exchanges became more and more frequent, and the Qingliu and the treacherous party all gathered together, brewing a cruel power struggle in peace.

In such a strange and peaceful atmosphere, the thirty years of Hongwu gradually passed.

In April of the 31st year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang fell ill again in the palace and fell into a coma. The Imperial Hospital tried its best to treat Zhu Yuanzhang before he woke up. However, after Zhu Yuanzhang woke up, he became confused, had a fever, talked nonsense, and his physical condition became worse and worse.

Zhu Yunwen, who had already served as the emperor, hurriedly stopped the court meeting and rushed to the inner palace to visit.

When the news came out, the court was in an uproar, and the ministers became more and more panicked or nervous, and they walked around privately and connected more frequently.

The eunuchs and maids in the palace, with Zhu Yunwen's tearful consent, began to prepare for the funeral of the emperor's grand ceremony, white silk, filial piety belt, incense and candles, rituals, etc., and all the things that should be prepared should be prepared.

When the court was panicked and uneasy, only the commander of the Jinyiwei Commander Xiao Fan remained unchanged. He looked like a god looking down at the crowd, and looked coldly at the joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness of the people.

Xiao Fan knew that Zhu Yuanzhang's life expectancy was approaching. Historical records show that in May of that year, Zhu Yuanzhang passed away. It is now April, less than a month before his death.

No one can change the destined things.

Xiao Fan turned his attention to the north. The ambitious vassal king, at this extraordinary period, his father was about to die. Does he... have the courage to come to Beijing to worship?

Prince Yan Mansion in Beiping.

It was another spring, and the sun shone brightly on the peach forest in the garden on the left side of the back hall. King Yan Zhu Di and monk Daoyan sat at the stone table in the middle of the peach forest to play chess.

The peach trees bloom every year, and this year they are different.

This year is a very important year for King Yan Zhu Di. After planning and preparing for major events for many years, it may soon be time to see the end of the plan.

The more this moment comes, the more nervous Zhu Di becomes.

The risk of this matter was too high, so high that he could not afford it, because the price was his life and fortune of the King of Yan!

The black and white on the chessboard are intertwined, and the balance is clear.

"Bang"

Big flying hang around the corner.

Monk Daoyan calmly left a son.

Zhu Di stared at the chessboard, but his mind was floating where he was.

"Sir, news came from the capital that at the beginning of this month, my father was seriously ill and unconscious..." Zhu Di said depressedly.

Daoyan nodded: "I already know."

Zhu Di raised his eyes and looked at Daoyan with complicated eyes, saying, "The imperial physician in the palace said that my father is afraid he will be dead soon..."

"I know."

"Sir...what should I do?"

Daoyan said lightly: "What the prince means, do you want to go back to the capital to see the emperor die?"

Zhu Di lowered his head, pondered without saying a word, and looked very hesitant.

Daoyan's eyes gradually emitted a sharp light and he said in a deep voice: "Prince, have you ever thought about the consequences that will happen after you enter the capital?"

"Of course I have thought that if I enter the capital, Xiao Fan will definitely not let me go. Once the father dies, the first thing he does is to put me under house arrest and then ask the new emperor to cut off my vassal..." Zhu Di's eyes burst into resentment.

"The prince still wants to enter Beijing?"

Zhu Di sighed and said, "But... If I want to take Zhu Yunwen and replace him, the great righteousness is very important. If I don't go back to pay tribute to my father's death, how will the people of the world see me? I will rule the world with filial piety in the Ming Dynasty. If my father dies and his son does not attend the funeral, I will lose all the hearts of the world. How can I talk about great achievements at that time?"

"Only by protecting yourself can you plan a great cause! If the prince enters the capital, he may only die in the capital in this life, and the great cause is even more hopeless. Haven't the prince seen the benefits and harms clearly?" Dao Yan calmly left another son.

Zhu Di looked at the chessboard with the complicated situation in front of him and felt a moment of restlessness and his mood became disordered.

"What should I do to protect myself without losing my righteousness and filial piety?"

Daoyan played with the white jade chess piece in his hand and smiled deeply.

"When the emperor has not yet passed away, why don't the prince fall ill at this time? By the time the emperor dies, the prince's condition will definitely become more and more serious at that time. His life is already in the evening and he can't move. How can he go to Beijing to pay tribute?"

A joy flashed across Zhu Di's face, and then frowned again and said, "But... when my father was about to die, I happened to fall ill. This... isn't that a coincidence? Zhu Yunwen and the civil and military officials of the court are not fools. Will they believe it?"

Daoyan smiled and said, "It's okay, the prince can send your three sons to the capital to pay tribute to his father. The king of Yan was seriously ill and still sent all his descendants to the capital. He is so selfless and open and honest. Who in the world will say a word to the prince again, right?"

Zhu Di said in confusion: "It's OK, but... if Xiao Fan is bold and detains my three sons as hostages..."

Daoyan smiled deeply, "Xiao Fan is not that bold. The prince is dominating Youyan and holding heavy troops. Xiao Fan is not a fool and will never dare to take the big flaw in the world. If he dares to detain the prince and initiate military affairs, the charge of provoking the vassal king will fall on him. Besides, he and Qingliu in the court have always been in the same power. If he detains the prince, the prince only needs to show his military power at the border. Huang Zicheng and other pedantic ministers will impeach together. At that time, he will be unable to take care of himself and have internal and external difficulties. The consequences will naturally be extremely dangerous. Xiao Fan is a smart person and will not do such a fool..."

When Zhu Di heard this, a strange color appeared in his eyes. After pondering for a long time, he felt a clear mind and suddenly became clear.

"Haha, sir is worthy of being my military advisor. It's good, good! That's it! The King of Japan in Ming Dynasty sent eight hundred miles to write to Beijing in an urgent manner. The King of Yan became more and more ill and his condition was serious, haha..."

"Bang"

Zhu Di calmly fell a piece on the chessboard.

In the Dragon Slaying Bureau, a big dragon that Daoyan had worked hard to set up was easily strangled by Zhu Di's son.

Daoyan smiled and shook his head, grabbed a chess piece and threw it on the chessboard, and gave in.

Zhu Di laughed proudly, his laughter was as heroic as a tiger roaring in the mountains and forests, and his majestic momentum shocked a group of birds in the peach forest.

Daoyan looked at Zhu Di deeply, and his eyes showed unconcealed appreciation.

The emperor was critically ill. At the same time, the Yan Prince's Mansion, far away in Peking, also sent a fast horse of 800 miles to report that the Yan Prince was seriously ill and his life was in full swing!

All the ministers in the court were either shocked or suspicious, and were talking a lot.

Xiao Fan saw the secret report from the intelligence station outside the Jinyiwei station stationed in Peiping, and then threw the secret report at random on the desk, pulling a sarcastic sneer on the corner of his mouth.

It's really time to get sick!

At the beginning of May of the 31st year of Hongwu.

The emperor was in a serious condition and the kings were uneasy. Except for the King of Yan, the other kings entered the capital lightly.

At the same time, Xiao Fan sent the Jinyiwei cavalry to patrol the world and closely monitored whether there were signs of large-scale mobilization of troops under the vassal kings in various places.

On the fifth day of the fifth month, Zhu Yuanzhang fell into a coma again, and the whole country was in a panic.

After Xiao Fan asked Zhu Yunwen for instructions, he urgently ordered the Governor's Office of the Five Army to close the city gates and imposed a curfew in the capital. The secret spies of the Jinyiwei were distributed to the nearby court of the King of the Beijing vassal states to closely monitor their movements.

On the sixth day of the fifth month, Zhu Yunwen transferred five thousand households from Daying from the suburbs of Beijing to lead the army into the palace. The founding hero Geng Bingwen of Changxing Hou, replaced the original imperial guards. At the same time, Xiao Fan was ordered to urgently transfer a thousand Jinyi lieutenants into the palace to serve the guards, with their swords unsheathed and their crossbows on their crossbows. If the palace servants do not have a job, they are not allowed to go out at will, and those who violate the enemy will be shot and killed.

In the capital city, inside and outside the palace, a deep and solemn aura enveloped everyone's hearts, making people suffocate.

The dull and depressing days passed twenty days.

On May 23, Zhu Yuanzhang, who had been in a coma for many days, suddenly woke up.

Zhu Yunwen has been serving Zhu Yuanzhang's bed these days. Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang wake up, Zhu Yunwen couldn't help but be overjoyed, holding Zhu Yuanzhang's withered hand and crying.

Zhu Yuanzhang gasped weakly for a few times, stretched out his hand tremblingly, stroked Zhu Yunwen's head lovingly, and his eyes were filled with too much reluctance.

"Grandfather! You are awake! You are so anxious these days..." Zhu Yunwen said in tears.

"I'm crazy... Even if I don't wake up, you should do your duty and maintain the government. How can you delay state affairs for me?" Zhu Yuanzhang blamed him gently, but his eyes were full of love.

"My Ming Dynasty governs the world with filial piety. The emperor and grandfather are not awake. How can the grandson have the heart to govern state affairs?"

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled with relief, and his face covered with age spots showed a kind and gentle glory.

"I... I'm afraid my life is over." Zhu Yuanzhang's tone was very plain, as if he was talking about something that had nothing to do with him.

"Grandfather!" Zhu Yunwen looked at him in horror. At this moment, he was as helpless as a child who was about to be abandoned by adults.

Zhu Yuanzhang's face gradually became serious, he coughed a few times and asked, "Have you ever sent troops to replace the imperial guards?"

Zhu Yunwen nodded with tears in his eyes.

"Will there be any signs of military mobilization in the vassal kings in various places?"

"The Jinyi Ti cavalry sent by Xiao Fan has received the reward. The soldiers of the vassal kings have not moved. Most of them have entered the capital. Only the fourth emperor's uncle, King Yan, is sick and is seriously ill."

Zhu Yuanzhang, whose mind suddenly became clear, had a deep and complicated look in his eyes when he heard this.

After sighing for a long time, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't say anything more, but his spirit seemed to be cheering up a lot. His eyes were blurred, and many illusions of the old year flashed in front of him.

"Yun Wen, help me up... I want to leave the palace." Zhu Yuanzhang gritted his teeth and forced himself to support his weak body.

Zhu Yunwen hurriedly helped Zhu Yuanzhang up and said in surprise: "My grandfather is seriously ill and should not be allowed to travel. What are you doing when you leave the palace?"
To be continued...