PFC Chapter 318 The Crown Prince, whom Old Zhu personally trained, could be as soft-hearted as he could
Chapter 318 The Crown Prince, whom Old Zhu personally trained, could be as soft-hearted as he could
As a founding emperor, it is not surprising that he was indirectly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.
After all, he single-handedly built this empire.
Even the success of a general is built on the bones of ten thousand, let alone the success of a ruler of a country.
Especially for an emperor like Zhu Yuanzhang, who conquered the south of the Yangtze River in civil wars and drove out the Manchus in foreign wars, he was also able to recover several territories that had been lost for hundreds of years.
Seeing the places that Zhu Yuanzhang had recovered, Zhao Kuangyin lost all desire to compare them.
With such achievements, it was no surprise that hundreds of thousands of people were buried on the battlefield.
However, it is not difficult to discern this from Zhu Di's words.
These hundreds of thousands of lives had nothing to do with the battlefield; they were simply people slaughtered on the execution ground!
As Li Er stared in disbelief, he saw Zhu Di add another sentence.
"Of course, all I know about are the people who died in the four major cases of the Hongwu era. As for the minor cases in ordinary times, the historians did not record them clearly, so I have no way of knowing about them."
"But I don't think it will exceed one million, and even if it does, it won't be by much."
Everyone: "..."
Looking at the sky, one could see Zhu Yuanzhang participating in the First Emperor's challenge.
I really didn't expect that this guy with thick eyebrows and big eyes would be a serial killer!
What does it mean to slaughter millions of people outside of the battlefield?
Li Er even felt that even if someone rebelled during the Zhenguan era, he couldn't kill so many people!
No, it wouldn't even be a tenth!
Not to mention that the people Old Zhu killed were all officials, gentry, and their relatives.
He was now wondering if the government's administrative system would collapse if the killing continued like this.
“My dad is busy with challenges right now and doesn’t have time to defend himself, but I have a pretty good idea of what he’ll say.”
Seeing that no one spoke, Zhu Di probably knew how these people were gossiping about him.
Although he still harbored resentment over not passing the throne to him, he would still defend Zhu Yuanzhang without hesitation in front of outsiders.
He's his biological father after all!
“You may think that he has killed too many people, that it is against the natural order, and that the slaughter of so many officials may cause the court to come to a standstill.”
"But all I can say is that none of the things you were worried about happened."
"The court did not stop turning. He abolished the position of prime minister and then took over all the affairs of the Secretariat."
"To ensure that the government could continue to function normally, he hardly slept a good night's sleep after that, and my elder brother also fell ill from overwork."
"As for the people he killed, you might say that it implicated too many people and was too cruel, but that's the result he wanted. He wanted to kill those corrupt officials to make them tremble with fear."
"When he ascended the throne, many people may have thought about expelling the Tartars and restoring the Central Plains, but he thought about something else entirely."
“My father witnessed his family starve to death when he was young. After he ascended the throne, he naturally did not want the tragedy of his childhood to repeat itself.”
In Zhu Yuanzhang's mind, the people under his rule would at least live better lives than during the Mongol Yuan dynasty.
As for the fate of corrupt officials, the worse the better!
He knew his origins, knew how he came to the throne, and naturally knew as well.
If he makes it impossible for the people to survive, there is a possibility that another Zhu Yuanzhang will emerge!
"But as you know, it was precisely because he was so bloodthirsty and ruthless that the pressure on himself and the Crown Prince suddenly increased, to the point that the Crown Prince eventually fell ill from overwork."
"Even if you hate corrupt officials, there should be a limit."
Although Li Er stopped speaking, the voices questioning Lao Zhu continued.
"And the crown prince he chose doesn't seem qualified at all. Didn't he even try to dissuade him?"
While some questioned Lao Zhu, others also set their sights on Zhu Biao.
They felt that since Zhu Yuanzhang was so radical, the crown prince should have advised and stopped him.
"I did try to dissuade them."
Zhu Di said with a smile.
"Many people went from being executed along with nine generations of their family to being executed along with their entire family, and some were even exterminated along with three generations of their family and then exiled."
"However, there were too many people who deserved to be killed, so the final number of people executed still sounds very high."
"But my elder brother was raised by my father. Do you expect him to be weak and easily bullied? That he wouldn't dare to kill someone?"
joke!
The crown prince, whom Zhu Yuanzhang personally trained, could be as soft-hearted as he could possibly be.
At the same time, as if sensing the doubts many people had about Zhu Biao, the text on the sky gradually faded, and in turn, images appeared.
"Your Highness, please plead for mercy! If His Majesty continues to kill like this, countless people will perish. The high-ranking officials in the court are already living in fear. We really cannot kill any more people!"
When the camera was pointed directly at the sky, the pleading voices of many people could already be heard.
Although those outside the canopy couldn't understand which case it was, it wasn't hard to guess from their words that Old Zhu must have killed a lot of people and still hadn't put away his butcher's knife.
After hearing the officials' pleas, most people felt that the crown prince should plead for him.
Even if they couldn't stop Zhu's killing spree, at least they could set an example for these officials and win them over.
But the next moment, the young man with his hands behind his back in the picture had a very serious expression on his face.
"You think my father made a mistake in killing them? That those people shouldn't have been killed?"
Upon hearing this, the ministers in front of him lowered their heads even further.
"Those whom Your Majesty has killed are naturally those who deserve to die, but it is wrong to implicate too many others. Some people can be spared to atone for their crimes and make amends. If they are all killed, it may cause turmoil in the court."
"Oh?"
"Turbulence in the imperial court?"
Zhu Biao's expression suddenly became somewhat amused.
"You have come today to persuade me to stop the Emperor. Are you worried about the country, or are you worried about being implicated?"
Upon hearing this, the expressions of all the officials changed drastically.
The high-ranking officials in the court are all in a state of fear; isn't that a perfect description of themselves?
Zhu Biao's clear explanation left them bewildered.
Shouldn't this be something everyone tacitly agrees on?
Does your Zhu family really intend to kill off the entire court of civil and military officials?
"If someone is truly useful to the court, I will naturally not let them be implicated, just like my master."
"You are the same. As long as you are useful to my Great Ming, I will protect your usefulness."
"But if you are too deeply involved in this case, or if you haven't done anything good yourself, don't expect me to be of any use."
"Although I dislike Father Emperor's excessive killing, that does not mean I will be lenient with those who deserve to die!"
Seeing that no one spoke, Zhu Biao didn't care and just continued talking to himself.
Upon hearing these words, some people secretly breathed a sigh of relief, while others were on tenterhooks.
You must understand that if even Zhu Biao is unwilling to protect them, then in the entire Ming Dynasty, there is probably no one who can save their lives.
No, there's one more person!
Some reacted faster, and a hint of interest appeared on their faces.
But Zhu Biao spoke again, effectively blocking their last resort.
"You should not go and beg the Empress Dowager. Although she is kind, she is more discerning than I am. She sees who should be killed and who should not be killed better than anyone else!"