North Zhili in the early morning, Hejian Mansion, outside Hejian County.

The sun had just peeked out of the horizon, and the golden sunlight shone on the armor of the soldiers of the Beijing camp, shining with a cold light.

The so-called "Jiaguang opens to the sun" is nothing more than this.

With the official document of the military capital of Beijing, the mobilized army, under the leadership of the second prince Zhu Gaoxu, is marching towards the governance of Hejian Mansion, and the tranquility of the suburbs is broken by the sound of uniform footsteps.

The reason why Zhu Gaoxu appeared here can be traced back to the grievances between the two sides during the Battle of Jingjing.

North Zhili, at present, there are Shuntianfu, Yongping, Baoding, Xuanfu, Zhendingfu, Hejian Fu, Shunde Fu, Guangping Fu, Daimyo Fu, a total of nine houses.

In the Battle of Jingjing, on the side of the Yan army, it was Xuanfu (now Zhangjiakou), Beiping Mansion (that is, Shuntian Mansion), Yongping Mansion (now Tangshan and Qinhuangdao), Baoding Mansion, and half of Hejian Mansion, that is, Tianjin Sanwei and Jinghai County, Qingxian County, Renqiu County and other places in the north of Hejian Mansion, and further south is the actual control area of the Southern Army, that is, the so-called "Pingyan Bu Political Envoy" of the Jianwen Imperial Court.

The "Pingyan Bu Political Envoy Division" that Tyrant Zhao managed at the beginning was mainly Zhending Mansion with Zhending Daying as the core, as well as half of Hejian Mansion south of Cangzhou, as for Shunde Mansion, Guangping Mansion, and Daimyo Mansion directly south of Zhending Mansion, because the jurisdiction area is too small, they are not as large as Zhending Mansion, and they are generally not very valued.

Therefore, there are currently a total of nine prefectures in Beizhili, which are actually 4.5 prefectures that support the Yan army's appeasement, and 4.5 prefectures controlled by the southern army, which are integrated together.

The two sides fought for four years, I don't know how many lives were filled in it, even if the Yan army succeeded later, the people of these 4.5 prefectures in the south of Beizhili, especially the gentry, were still dissatisfied with Zhu Di's rule As for the people, they were more relieved to see the arrival of peace, but there must be relatives who were conscripted into the army and fell under the Yan saber, so more or less, there are also some resentments.

It's normal, it's been like this for four years for anyone who has been hostile.

Therefore, Zhu Gaoxu wanted to accelerate the reform of the law in Beizhili, but the main obstacle was not the mansions that these Yan troops controlled before, and the big landlords of these mansions were basically Jing Nanxun's noble military ministers, who belonged to their own people, in a word.

The main resistance is in these 4.5 provinces in the south of North Naoli.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Zhu Gaoxu's first stop came to Hejian Mansion.

Zhu Gaoxu rode on a tall sweaty horse, which was captured from the forward army of the Timurid Khanate, he liked it very much, but the sweaty horse seemed to have also felt Zhu Gaoxu's murderous aura, and it was extremely quiet at this time.

Zhu Gaoxu's face was grim, and his eyes were as sharp as a falcon, revealing an unquestionable determination.

Whoever stands in the way of him ascending to the throne of the prince will die!

As the army marched, the air around them seemed to freeze.

The people of the county town hid back to their homes early, only daring to peek through the cracks in the doors or windows to peek at this somewhat familiar scene, because four or five years ago, the Yan army and the southern army were in this tug-of-war.

However, because there have been rumors for a long time, some well-informed people know that the second prince did not come this time for the purpose of conquest as in the previous Battle of Jingjing, but to implement an important policy - the gentry pay food together.

"The gentry class has a huge influence in the imperial court and the local government, but their tax reduction and tax exemption privileges have also seriously affected the taxation and social fairness of the Ming Dynasty, so the second prince decided to personally go out and implement the policy of integrated payment of grain by the gentry throughout Beizhili to break this imbalance."

Anyway, the officials of Beizhili who have an official tone say so, and it is difficult to say whether there is a yin and yang weird element in this.

As the army approached, the gate of the county seat slowly opened, and the army led by Zhu Gaoxu did not stop without stopping, and passed through the city directly and came to the county yamen.

In front of the county yamen, the officials had already stood according to their ranks, and their faces were more or less nervous and uneasy.

The elected and influential local gentry and landlords gathered together and whispered, their eyes full of fear.

They looked at the second prince, trying to read the true intention of the trip from his face.

However, Zhu Gaoxu did not grind, and after he dismounted, he walked up the steps of the county office.

In the eyes of the officials and gentry, it was as if a hill appeared in front of them, and the sense of oppression was extremely sufficient.

Compared with the grumpy boy in the past, the current Zhu Gaoxu has begun to have some calmness as he grows older and has more experience, or this kind of small scene is completely under his control.

Zhu Gaoxu glanced at the people present, and then slowly spoke, the voice was not loud, but it was enough for everyone present to hear clearly.

He elaborated on the policy of the gentry paying grain in one piece, including strictly prohibiting the illegal gentry from collecting money and grain, strictly prohibiting the officials and gentry from colluding in lawsuits, and strictly supervising the students, as well as the corresponding "list of the illegal gentry and the illegal students" and other specific contents.

After Zhu Gaoxu finished reading, he directly inserted the official document on the door of the yamen with a short knife, and the scene fell into silence.

Zhu Gaoxu looked at them with an undoubted majesty in his eyes, as if telling everyone that he was bound to win this competition.

The officials bowed their heads, not daring to look at him, and the gentry and landlords looked at each other, at a loss.

He then ordered his men to post notices throughout the city, making public the gentry's policy of paying for food and announcing that those who disobeyed the order would be severely punished.

With the departure of Zhu Gaoxu, although the county seat of Hejian has regained its apparent tranquility, it is actually an undercurrent.

The gentry and the landlords began to secretly concatenate in an attempt to find a countermeasure to deal with this sudden blow. Because they have no psychological expectations for Zhu Gaoxu's vigorous and resolute action, according to the original plan, this kind of policy will be slowly piloted.

They knew very well that once the policy of the gentry paying for food was truly implemented, their privileges and interests would be affected like never before.

And Zhu Gaoxu didn't give them much time to react.

He ordered the army to be stationed around the county seat and closely monitor every move in the county.

At the same time, he also sent a large number of soldiers and servants to distribute printed notices to the tax collectors of all townships throughout Hajian Province, and went deep into the villages and fields to publicize the benefits of the gentry's one-piece grain policy to the peasants and win their support.

This "salary draw from the bottom of the kettle" made the gentry and landlords begin to realize that the second prince was not joking, but really determined to implement this policy.

Some smart people began to think about how to protect their interests in this change, while some diehards began to conspire to rebel in various deceitful ways. Of course, they dare not openly resist, but they still dare to secretly stumble or destroy the evidence of the crime.

However, Zhu Gaoxu had already expected all this under Jiang Xinghuo's reminder.

"The gentry landlords are both conservative and weak, and you have to learn to take advantage of their weaknesses."

Therefore, Zhu Gaoxu did not blindly use force, but sent people to buy them through coercion and inducement, and by penetrating into the interior of the gentry and landlords, he inquired about their movements, and once he found that someone was plotting against the evil and trying to disobey the yang and the yin, he immediately dealt a severe blow to him -- the leader was shown to the public, the property of the field house was confiscated, and the family was exiled to the border of the garrison.

Under such a high-pressure situation, all kinds of overt and covert resistance of the gentry and landlords gradually subsided, and they began to accept the fact that the gentry paid for grain in one piece, and began to ponder how to protect their interests as much as possible under the new policy.

The people of Beizhili saw in this change the hope of correcting the unfairness, which in itself was a help to the weaker side.

The yeoman farmers began to actively respond to Zhu Gaoxu's call, worked hard to cultivate the land, and paid grain according to tax requirements.

In fact, with the development of the work related to clearing the fields, in the tax link, the officials and servants have basically lost their hands, the peasants do not have to pay the overdue tax grain for artificial reasons, and the landlords and gentry have greatly reduced their tax pass-on, and on the whole, life is gradually getting better.

With the passage of time, the policy of integrated grain payment by the gentry was gradually implemented in Hejian Mansion and Zhending Mansion, although some resistance and difficulties were encountered in the process, but under Zhu Gaoxu's firm will and iron-fisted methods, these were overcome one by one.

However, any behavior such as "the lawless gentry collecting money and grain, the officials and gentry colluding in lawsuits, and the students boycotting their studies" will be included in the list of lawless gentry or lawless students, and will not be tolerated.

All of a sudden, this list became the "book of life and death" in the mouths of the folk gentry.

To tell the truth, not being allowed to go through the imperial examination is more uncomfortable than asking them to die, because the reason why these gentry can maintain their families is that they can continuously cultivate the children of the family to enter the official career through the imperial examination, and cut off their road to heaven, it is not a matter of someone not dying, but a group of people who will suffer.

There was no shortage of students who were outright or instigated, but all of them were expelled from school.

The gentry of the three prefectures of Shunde Mansion, Guangping Mansion, and Daimyo Mansion saw that Hejian Mansion and Zhending Mansion were powerless to resist, and many gentry and students who dared to make small moves were cut off from their careers, or at worst they were killed, and they extinguished their thoughts of resistance.

In the end, the policy of the gentry receiving grain in one piece was implemented in just a few months, and Zhu Gaoxu's reputation was even worse among the gentry in Beizhili. But Zhu Gaoxu doesn't care about it, the success, the prince, the loser, the rebellion, all the rebellions are done, and he has the right to bark as a dog for this infamy among the gentry.

In addition to the gentry, Zhu Gaochu has objectively won quite wide praise and support in this change.

His prestige and influence were further enhanced and consolidated in the imperial court and at the local level, and Zhu Gaoxu's strong implementation of the gentry's policy of collecting grain in one piece in Beizhili also had a profound impact on the local people.

It seems that the policy was aimed at the gentry, but in fact this is the same as the principle of Kiyota, taking Kiyota and other policies as an example, in the past, the gentry class was often able to use their privileged position to evade taxes, but it was impossible for the imperial court not to collect taxes, so these burdens were eventually passed on to ordinary peasants.

The implementation of the gentry's policy of paying grain in one piece has actually reduced the burden of the people in disguise.

In the past, the gentry class often took advantage of their privileged position to oppress the common people and commit crimes, resulting in local chaos.

The implementation of this policy made the gentry class lose a large part of its privileged position, and could no longer use its position to oppress the people, thus helping to rectify the social order and reduce the occurrence of injustices such as collusion in lawsuits.

Of course, there are pros and cons to everything.

The gentry's policy of paying grain in one piece also had a certain impact on the scholars of Beizhili.

Since the Sui Dynasty opened the imperial examination, the examination has become a means for the ruler to select talents, and the low-level scholars have begun to have the possibility to become the upper class In the Northern and Southern Dynasties, you are not a Xianbei noble or a family valve, how can you be a big official?

Song Zhenzong Zhao Heng's "Persuasion Poem" is actually very straightforward.

"Rich families don't need to buy fertile land, there are thousands of bells in the book.

There is no need to raise a hall to live in peace, and there is a golden house in the book.

Don't hate to go out with no one, there are many cars and horses in the book.

Don't hate unscrupulous matchmakers when marrying a wife, there is Yan Ruyu in the book.

The boy wants to fulfill his life's aspirations, and reads the Pentateuch to the window. ”

- Studying is to earn money to buy a house and a land and marry a wife.

In the past, the imperial courts of all dynasties gave the privileges of meritorious scholars, and these scholars became gentry, but now they have been deprived of most of them, and the policy of the gentry paying food is equivalent to directly suppressing the status of scholars, and they have returned to the same situation as ordinary people at the beginning, which is a big blow to many scholars who want to use the imperial examination to obtain privileges, causing their dissatisfaction.

But it's still that sentence, Xiucai met the soldiers, and he couldn't explain it clearly, not to mention that these readers hadn't paid attention to it.

In front of Zhu Gaoxu's knife handle, any objection is invalid.

If you stop him from being the prince of the Ming Dynasty, he will be able to send you to see the king of Taishan Mansion.

——————

Beijing City, Xishan.

The Xishan area is rich in coal resources since ancient times, mining began from the Liaojin era, to the Yuan Dynasty, the coal kiln of Xishan not only produces coal, but also is rich in white coal, according to the "Yuan Yi Tongzhi": "Coal coal, out of Wanping County West 45 miles of Dagu Mountain, there are more than 30 holes of black coal, and 50 miles of peach blossom ditch in the southwest, there are more than 10 holes of white coal."

Now because Daming has a great industrial demand, Xishan has become an important coal production area. The area of Xishan coal kiln includes Hunhe, Dayu, Mentougou and Juyongguan.

The dawn of dawn spreads softly among the mountains like golden brocade, gently awakening the sleeping mountains and forests.

In the dense forest at the foot of Naxi Mountain, a workshop surrounded by high walls can be faintly seen - the Ming Army Gunpowder Workshop.

At this time, the workshop was in full swing, with several large pools of mixed acid production, and a nearby warehouse with a large amount of cotton, and the shouts of the workers were intertwined, and they were producing a new type of gunpowder called "nitrocellulose", according to Shangguan, who clearly told them that although this gunpowder was powerful, it was also extremely explosive, so the production process required them to be extra careful.

There is no impermeable wall in this world, and the fact that Beijing's military workshops were mass-producing new gunpowder soon became known to some civilian officials in Beizhili.

And the purpose of doing this was quickly guessed by those who had a heart.

Gunpowder is one of the indicators in the complicated index system of the north-south direct law reform development competition.

In the past, the Ming Dynasty basically only had two kinds of gunpowder, primitive gunpowder and black powder, and in the entire evaluation index system, the explosive power of primitive gunpowder was used as the calculation standard, so the weight of black powder should be higher than that of original gunpowder.

And the new gunpowder, although the civil officials did not know how powerful the explosion was, what they knew very well was that this thing seemed to be made of cotton!

That's broken!

The reason is not difficult to guess, that is, there is nothing else in Daming now, just a lot of cotton.

Other indicators, such as steel, glass, black powder, such things, now Beizhili can't explode much output, grain output is very fixed and can even be said to be immovable, and the school can't build more in a short time, but if this new gunpowder can be produced by cotton, the output must be very terrifying, plus the power multiplier, it can pull Nanzhili out of the competition at once.

If Zhu Gaochi loses in the battle for the prince, it is conceivable that they may not be affected much now, but the future will definitely not be very bright in the future, after all, this belongs to the wrong team.

Therefore, some people did not intend to sit idly by, but tried to secretly use their hands and feet, sending people to infiltrate the gunpowder workshop, trying to disrupt the production process, so as to weaken the second prince Zhu Gaoxu's final sprint to compete for the crown.

The day's work in the gunpowder workshop was soon over, and the workers carefully stored the gunpowder before leaving the workshop.

The night is like ink.

Two dark shadows silently approached the outer walls of the Gunpowder Workshop, tasked with destroying the Gunpowder Workshop.

However, they still underestimated Zhu Gaoxu's vigilance here.

When two agents transferred from Xiangma in Liaodong were about to climb over the wall to enter, suddenly, beams of bright torches were lit, and then dozens of Ming soldiers rushed out of the shadows and surrounded them.

The two knew that something was wrong and immediately wanted to retreat, but after all, they were just people from the rivers and lakes, where could they compare with the well-trained Ming soldiers? Soon the two will be captured alive.

However, these two people are bloody, and they probably got some promises, and when they saw that the important thing was leaked, they directly wiped their necks with daggers.

The frustration of this conspiracy that could not find the instigator not only kept the gunpowder workshop safe, but also put Zhu Gaochi, who was far away in Nanjing, into a more passive situation in the battle for the prince.

——————

Inside the Nanjing Imperial Palace.

Zhu Di was sitting in the study, his brows were tightly knit and his expression was serious.

In addition to the two sons being uneasy, the most important thing is that Queen Xu is sick.

Empress Xu's illness is not a sudden illness, but a cumulative illness.

On the one hand, Queen Xu gave birth to children in the early years, fell into the root of the disease, and destroyed the body, you must know that among Zhu Di's nine children, the first seven were all born by Queen Xu, after the marriage, Queen Xu frequently became pregnant and gave birth to children in nine years, and gave birth to three sons and four daughters for Zhu Di one after another.

Seven in nine years, to be honest, it is impossible not to hurt the body.

On the other hand, it is excessive fatigue during the war, as the daughter of General Xu Da, Queen Xu has been exposed to it since she was a child, and she also has the style of a tiger girl, when Zhu Di Fengtianjing was difficult to raise troops, Queen Xu was deeply involved in the defense of the city in Beiping, at that time, in the face of the lack of troops in the city, the enemy was outnumbered, Queen Xu calmly and calmly and Zhu Gaochi and Gu Cheng, Yao Guangxiao and others together to plan and deploy various affairs to defend the city.

At the height of the war, Empress Xu launched the soldiers in the city, the wives of the people to fight in the city, each woman was issued with a pair of leather armor, Empress Xu personally went to the city to supervise the battle, and the women in the city were inspired by Empress Xu, throwing stones and rubble, supporting Zhu Di to return to the division smoothly, and Queen Xu, who was not very good at it, was even worse after defending the city from Beiping.

Therefore, Queen Xu's illness is not solved by allicin or penicillin at all, and Zhu Di also knows it, but he just has the idea that it can be delayed for a day.

There was news from Beijing that the gunpowder workshop had been tried to be sabotaged, and now it was a critical moment, and Zhu Di knew very well what was at stake, so he immediately ordered to summon the eldest prince Zhu Gaochi.

After a long time, Zhu Gaochi walked into the study, his face was a little pale, obviously he was not slow to learn the news, and he already knew about the gunpowder workshop. As for how he knows, it's very intriguing.

"Chi'er, do you know about the Beijing Gunpowder Workshop?" Zhu Di asked coldly.

Zhu Gaochi hurriedly knelt down, his voice trembling a little: "This matter is definitely not the work of the sons. ”

Zhu Di sneered: "Not you? Tell me, who will it be? ”

Zhu Gaochi raised his head when he heard this, a trace of anger and unwillingness flashed in his eyes, at this moment, seeing that his father was still doubting himself, Zhu Gaochi was upset, he could be sure that he didn't do it himself, but he really couldn't be sure that it was Beijing's civil officials who made their own decisions, and at this time he could only insist that Zhu Gaochu planned it himself.

So Zhu Gaochi rarely fought with Zhu Di.

"Erchen doesn't know, but Erchen dares to ask his father, why wasn't it the second brother's own drama? He's always been right for his son. The position of the prince is eyeing the throne, and this matter may be done by him in order to frame his sons. ”

Unexpectedly, Zhu Gaochi's retort did not make Zhu Di angry, but intrigued for a moment, and then waved his hand to let Zhu Gaochi retreat: "I will send someone to investigate this matter thoroughly, you stand aside for the time being, and wait for my news." ”

Zhu Gaochi withdrew from the study, looking at the closed door of the main hall, but his heart was full of uneasiness.

You must know that this battle for the prince has reached a white-hot stage, and any wind and grass may cause an uproar, and he must deal with it carefully, otherwise once he falls into Zhu Gaoxu's trap, he may be doomed.

Faced with the opportunity to inherit the Daming Dynasty in the future, there is no brotherhood at this time.

Not to mention that they don't have much brotherhood in the first place, even if they are close brothers, it is impossible to give them up in the face of the temptation of the country.

Even if the imperial power is the devil, all the princes are willing to become the devil's apostles.

At this time, outside the palace, the government and the opposition are paying attention to this annual event - the dispute between the princes.

The contest between the eldest prince Zhu Gaochi and the second prince Zhu Gaochu is coming to an end, and the decisive moment is coming.

After intense statistics and accounting by the household department, the results were finally revealed, and the Northern Zhili led by Zhu Gaochu performed well in all indicators of the development of the law, and the comprehensive cumulative results even surpassed the Southern Zhili led by Zhu Gaochi.

This result shocked the government and the opposition, and also made Zhu Di fall into contemplation, but the situation in the court and the central government could not allow him to hesitate too much.

Zhu Gaoxu's supporters expressed their sympathy one after another, and almost ninety out of ten of the noble and military ministers demanded that Zhu Gaoxu be immediately canonized as the prince according to the agreement.

At this time, one by one flew into Zhu Di's study like snowflakes, all of which were written by civil officials, accusing Beizhili of cheating in the statistics on the development of the law, and they listed all kinds of suspicious points, and asked Zhu Di to investigate the matter thoroughly in order to return justice to the government and the opposition.

The ministers of the DPRK and China have become inextricably involved because of the dispute between the princes, and the two sides insist on their own words and do not give in to each other.

Zhu Di looked at these twists and turns, his brows tightened, seeing that the situation had gradually gotten out of control, and at this time the stakes were very important, Zhu Di was upset, and it was difficult to make up his mind for a while, he was ready to ask Queen Xu when he visited his illness, after all, Queen Xu was not only his beloved wife, but also a resourceful "female Zhuge ", who had repeatedly advised him at critical moments. Most importantly, she is the mother of two princes.

——————

In Kunning Palace, a strong smell of medicine filled the air, which made people feel depressed.

Empress Xu was lying on the sickbed, her face was as pale as paper, and her eyes revealed deep exhaustion.

Imperial Physician Dai Sigong stood aside, frowning, he and his colleagues had treated Empress Xu many times, but his condition did not improve at all.

He knew that Empress Xu's illness had become irreparable, and the tonic medicine seemed to have no effect at all, although he was known as a miracle doctor, but at this time, he was helpless and could not bring her a trace of life.

Twenty-five years ago, he couldn't keep Queen Ma, and now he can't keep Queen Xu, no matter how honorable he was in life, he was equal in the face of death.

At this time, Zhu Di hurriedly walked into Kunning Palace.

When he saw Queen Xu's appearance, he felt a knife-like cramp in his heart, and he relieved himself for a long time, sat on the edge of the bed, and held Queen Xu's hand tightly.

Empress Xu opened her eyes slightly, and when she saw Zhu Di's anxious expression, she barely squeezed out a smile: "Your Majesty, I'm afraid that the concubine will not be in the future. The only thing that the concubines can't rest assured about is the prince's affairs. ”

Zhu Di's heart tightened, he knew that Empress Xu had always been at ease about the appointment of the prince.

After all, the palms and backs of her hands are full of meat, all of them are children who came out of her Queen Xu's belly, how can she be willing to favor one over the other?

Zhu Di was silent for a moment and told her everything that had happened recently.

Then Zhu Di asked in a low voice: "Do you think Chi'er and Xu'er, who is more suitable to be the prince?" ”

Empress Xu shook her head slightly, her voice was weak but firm: "Your Majesty, the dispute between the prince and the prince is related to the future of the country, and it cannot be decided rashly. According to the opinion of the concubines, it is better to send a few impartial ministers to Beizhili to thoroughly investigate the cheating. If this is the case, it will be severely punished in accordance with the law; If there is no such thing, then Xu'er is innocent. ”

Zhu Di took a deep breath, he knew that Empress Xu's words were reminding him that the choice of the prince could not be based on personal preference alone.

He held Empress Xu's hand tightly: "Don't worry, I will definitely consider carefully and choose a suitable prince." ”

After hearing this, Empress Xu nodded slightly and closed her eyes, her breathing gradually became weak and steady, as if she had fallen into a deep sleep.

Zhu Di sat silently on the edge of the bed, accompanying the queen who was about to leave him, with mixed feelings in his heart.

It was a long time before Zhu Di walked out of Kunning Palace.

Soon, Zhu Di sent three officials he trusted, including Chen Qia, the secretary of the Dali Temple, Jin Youzi, the secretary of the Fa Temple, and Lang Shikui, the right attendant of the military department, to Beizhili to investigate.

The days passed in tension and waiting, and it was not until the New Year of the fifth year of Yongle that the ministers sent to Beizhili finally returned after a long investigation.

Chen Qia, Jin Youzi, and Shi Kui brought back a detailed investigation report jointly signed to guarantee the authenticity, which confirmed that Beizhili did not cheat in the statistics on the development of the law, and that all the achievements were solid, and although the new gunpowder was produced in the last few months, it was indeed useful and the procedures were complete.

Zhu Di read the report carefully in the study, and he already made a decision in his heart.

The report, which was published in the "Di Bao" for officials' reference, was like a boulder thrown into the lake, instantly breaking the peace that the government and the opposition had maintained for several months.

In the first month of the fifth year of Yongle, Zhu Di held a great court meeting in Fengtian Palace, because it was the New Year, so in addition to the nine sides of the chief military officer, these nobles and nobles who could not move, almost all the noble military ministers and middle and high-level civil officials were summoned, and several princes were also present.

This day is the day to decide the future prince of the Ming Dynasty.

In the early morning, the sunlight shines through the clouds on the yellow glazed tiles on the roof of the heavy eaves of the Fengtian Temple, flashing with golden light.

In front of the Fengtian Palace, hundreds of palace guards dressed in armor and holding halberds and other ceremonial weapons stood majestically on both sides.

With the sound of drums, the civil and military officials entered the Fengtian Hall in order according to their ranks, they were dressed in the court clothes that they hardly wore on weekdays, wearing official hats, and their expressions were solemn and solemn.

At this time, with the chanting of the ceremonial officer, the court meeting officially began.

The entire Fengtian Hall suddenly fell silent, leaving only the sound of drums and the walking of the attendants echoing in the air.

Zhu Di got up slowly, announced the results of the investigation in a loud voice, and elaborated on Zhu Gaoxu's political achievements and talents in Beizhili.

The ministers listened to the emperor's narration, and each thought in his heart that Zhu Gaoxu's political achievements were indeed outstanding, but his character and methods were also quite controversial.

However, at this moment, no one dared to question the emperor.

Then, Zhu Di changed his words and announced the decision to appoint Zhu Gaoxu as the prince.

"The position of the prince is related to the foundation of the country and cannot be granted lightly, but Zhu Gaoxu's success in changing the law this time is really a blessing for our dynasty. From today on, Zhu Gaoxu is the prince of my Ming Dynasty, and the secretaries should do their best to assist and protect the country. ”

As soon as Zhu Di's words fell, a tsunami-like cheer sounded in the court.

The generals all looked happy, and they knew that if Zhu Gaoxu ascended the throne, he would definitely reuse them as warriors.

Although the civil officials were dissatisfied, they had no choice but to echo or remain silent.

Zhu Di looked at the mixed reactions of the ministers below, and knew in his heart that this decision would cause some waves, but he believed that his decision was correct, and Zhu Gaoxu had the ability to take on the heavy responsibility of the prince.

At this time, Zhu Gaoxu walked out of the group of ministers and knelt down in front of Zhu Di.

He was so excited that tears glistened in his eyes.

Zhu Gaoxu clearly knows that his position as the prince is not easy to come by, and he understands the heavy responsibility on his shoulders.

"The son must live up to his father's high expectations and do his best to assist his father in governing the world."

In the Fengtian Palace, when Zhu Di announced the canonization of Zhu Gaochu as the prince, Zhu Gaochi seemed to have been struck by lightning, and the whole person froze in place, his face instantly turned pale, and his eyes were full of loss and unwillingness.

Zhu Gaochi has always been a steady and benevolent prince, although he does not have Zhu Gaochu's sharp courage and temperament, but he has his own unique style of governance, he attaches importance to the voice of the gentry, cares about the livelihood of the people, and is deeply loved by civil officials.

However, at this moment, all his hard work and dedication came to naught.

Zhu Gaochi felt that his heart was dripping blood, as if it was pierced by countless spikes at the same time, and an indescribable sourness swelled up.

- Father still doesn't like not like himself.

Zhu Gaochi tried to control his emotions and tried to stand firm on his fat body, he couldn't lose his temper in front of everyone. He took a deep breath and tried to calm his inner turmoil.

However, his eyes betrayed him, Zhu Gaochi's eyes became dim, and his gaze looked into the distance out of focus, as if looking for an exit from reality.

After the canonization ceremony, Zhu Gaochi silently left the Fengtian Palace, and he did not follow the ministers to congratulate the new prince, but chose to leave alone.

His chubby back looked so lonely and helpless in the sun, as if the whole world had nothing to do with him.

Although this battle for the prince is over, the changes in the court have just begun.

After Zhu Gaoxu was appointed prince, the entire court was shaken, and although some civil officials were dissatisfied, no one dared to openly oppose the emperor's decision.

At the same time, the life of the eldest prince Zhu Gaochi became more and more sad, he was already weak, and with this blow, he was even more exhausted.

After returning to the mansion, Zhu Gaochi locked himself in his study, closed the door all day, and refused all visiting guests.

During this time, Zhu Gaochi seemed to have changed as a person.

In addition to studying, he also began to plant flowers and plants in the mansion, watering and fertilizing himself every day, watching those lives break out of the soil little by little from the seeds and gradually grow strongly, Zhu Gaochi felt the tenacity of life.

Zhu Gaochi even raised a white-haired puppy, which Zhu Zhanji picked up.

These little lives seemed to tell him that even if he encountered setbacks, he still had the courage to start over.

As time passed, Zhu Gaochi's mood gradually calmed down, and he began to re-examine himself and think about his future.

Tenacious as he did not give up, but chose to taoguang and accumulate strength in secret.

Zhu Gaochi understood that although he had lost the position of prince, he was still the eldest son of his father, and he had a strong power in the court, which was an important means used by his father to balance the prince.

At this point, Zhu Gaochi saw it more thoroughly than Zhu Gaochu.

Zhu Gaochi didn't believe that his domineering younger brother could endure some things, because the position of the crown prince was unimaginable, and he always had to offend one side from top to bottom, and many things would inevitably contradict the emperor's position.

What's more, Zhu Gaochu and Jiang Xinghuo combined are enough to threaten the imperial power, and he is waiting for Zhu Gaochu to form a wide alliance, openly challenge Zhu Di's authority, and even secretly plot to usurp the throne.

In Zhu Gaochi's view, this contest has not yet ended, and it may continue for ten or twenty years

(End of chapter)