Squeezed out an embarrassed smile, Bai Xiaoyi said innocently:

"Don't be angry at me, I'm just asking. ”

With a heavy cold snort, Zhu Yuanzhang said a little angrily:

"Do you know why the emperors used to be mediocre?"

The people sitting around looked at each other and didn't dare to answer, and the old man looked around and asked himself:

"Isn't it because they only know how to be greedy for pleasure, and they can't even do the most basic understanding of people's feelings? Those emperors know all day long to stay in that big cage and enjoy themselves, and they don't even know how important a penny is to the people, so how can they govern the world? I'm different, I've lived a hard life, and I know how important a penny is. The money I gave to those officials was enough to feed their families! What else do they want?"

Scratching his head, Bai Xiaoyi said with a stitch:

"But, those officials still have to ask the officials to do things for them?"

"So what? Don't the state and county governments have public property and taxes? enough to feed the officials, if this is not enough. That is, these officials are insatiable, and if they are allowed to do so, they will definitely squeeze oil and water from the common people, and for such officials, they will be killed!"

Seeing that the emperor next to him said that killing people was as easy as slaughtering chickens, Zhu Wei, who was still a child, persuaded softly:

"Dad, my mother said that it's not good to kill too much. Although Wei'er is in the palace, she has also heard of several major cases and many deaths. I think you'd better kill fewer people......"

Gently rubbing his baby daughter's head, Zhu Yuanzhang said helplessly:

"You are really like your mother, she always asks me to kill less and create less evil. But if I don't kill those corrupt officials, if I don't kill chickens and monkeys, those officials who only think about making money won't kick their noses in the face. Kill, kill them all, and if they are afraid of killing, they will not dare. ”

Looking at the still murderous old man, everyone sitting around could only smile awkwardly.

After hesitating for a moment, Bai Xiaoyi, who was a little unsure of life or death, continued:

"But old man, you have killed so many people, and there are many old ministers who fight the world with you. There are a lot of people who have died, and there are a lot of gossips that are not good for you......"

Tapping the table in front of him, the long-faced old man fell into deep thought. After a while, Zhu Yuanzhang said helplessly:

"But what can I do? How many can I stop? It's not that I want to kill them, but those spoiled old ministers forced me to kill them! Yes, they are the founding ministers, and they were born and died with me. But then what about when they sat in high positions, they also began to learn to form cliques for personal gain and bend the law for bribes. Even if they don't do it, what should their juniors say who rely on the blessings of their ancestors and don't do anything about things? One moment they encroach on other people's fields, and the other time they rob the people's daughters and get their lives, and then those older generations who rely on the heroes of merit will begin to use their power and connections to shield their own juniors, and they still have me as the emperor in their eyes!"

Speaking of this, the old man's tone was obviously excited:

"We fight this world together to make the people ruled by the Yuan people live better, in order to use our methods to create a peaceful and prosperous world. But they, like a band of robbers, took over a town and began to sit on the ground and divide the spoils. In the end, am I sorry for them, or are they sorry for the people in this world! My old Zhu is still alive and can still suppress them. But if one day I'm gone, I'll have a successor who can't stop them. These old ministers who have made great achievements and shocked the lord are not against the sky! You say, these people should not be killed!"

Hearing the old man's impassioned words, everyone sitting around was stunned and nodded at a loss.

But when it came to the rising old man, he suddenly sighed with a dejected face, and muttered in disappointment:

"Do you really think I like to kill people? Those are old guys who have known each other for decades, and many of them are brothers who have been born and died countless times with my old Zhu...... I can't bear to kill them, I gave them Danshu iron coupons, I just want these old brothers who managed to save their lives on the battlefield can enjoy their old age and live a peaceful life. But what about them? Have they ever thought about my troubles? for more than 20 years...... The damned, the undeserved, all dead...... Now there are not many people left who can talk...... This bullshit throne...... Why are you so tired from sitting......"

Looking at this Hongwu Emperor, who seemed to have suddenly aged more than ten years, everyone showed sympathetic looks.

Gently patting his old friend's shoulder, Xi Yingzhen comforted softly:

"Old man, since you have chosen to sit on this throne, you are destined to be alone. This is your fate as a tribute lord of the world, and it is also a curse. ”

Stretching out his hand on the back of the old Taoist priest's hand, Zhu Yuanzhang forced out a lonely smile.

The sensible Zhu Wei gently leaned on her father's arms and said coquettishly:

"Dad is not alone, Dad has Wei'er, I will always accompany Daddy and never abandon ......"

doting on his daughter's nose, Zhu Yuanzhang said softly:

"That's not good, when my daughter is older, she always has to get married. I don't want my baby daughter to become an old girl, I want to see you find your wishful husband and marry each other. ”

Princess Baohui, who was almost at the age of marriage, blushed and plunged into her father's arms.

Seeing that the atmosphere at the banquet had eased a lot, Bai Xiaoyi continued to ask openly:

"Old man, I still have a question that I don't know if to ask?"

Frowning slightly, the long-faced old man said angrily and funny:

"Anyway, your kid has already asked a lot of things that shouldn't be asked, and he doesn't care about one more than that, just ask. ”

With the permission of the old man, Bai Xiaoyi boldly said:

"I'm just curious, in fact, you haven't been staying in that imperial city very much. There are so many things in the world that day, can you trust them just by relying on those recitals that have been submitted? What if what is said in the recitals is false? What if, you mistakenly believe the slander and kill the wrong good person?"

Glancing at this troubled young man indifferently, Zhu Yuanzhang asked with some curiosity:

"Boy, why are you suddenly so interested in national affairs? Could it be that you have figured it out and are going to give me a old man?"

Waving his hands in some panic, Bai Xiaoyi hurriedly defended:

"No, no, I didn't think so. I'm just curious, how do you distinguish the truth from the fake in this big world and so many reports submitted by local officials. ”

Gently brushing the beard under his chin, Zhu Yuanzhang pointed to the cold-faced uncle who was still frosty on the side and said:

"Well, I'm going to ask our Jinyi Guard Commander Lord Yan. ”

Hearing Zhu Yuanzhang call himself so, the cold-faced man who had been sitting respectfully on the side hurriedly saluted:

"The subordinates don't dare. ”

With a casual wave of his hand, Zhu Yuanzhang laughed indifferently:

"You don't have to be so restrained, Yan Jin, you might as well tell our little brother how powerful the Jinyi Wei you trained is. ”

Yan Jin, who had never been smiling, glanced at this ruffian-looking young man, and said coldly:

"My Jinyi Guard's subordinates go up to the commander and down to the small banner, although the total is not more than 10,000 people. But in all major state capitals, counties and towns, there are spies and eyeliners that we have inserted. These are people we have trained and we have recruited from the local area. They are distributed in all walks of life, and there are people from Jinyiwei in restaurants, teahouses, and green buildings. Not to mention the dirty things that those magistrates did in private, we can even find out exactly what color the bottoms they wear every morning - pants. Relying on the recital we provided, plus the recital that His Majesty has seen, it is natural to distinguish the true from the false. ”

Pretending to be surprised, his mouth opened wide, and Bai Xiaoyi looked up and down this cold-faced uncle with playful eyes. After a while, he muttered something out of his words:

"It does sound quite powerful, but ah, I said Old Man Zhu, you haven't thought about it, what if those local Jinyi Wei spies and local officials give you false news? Or, what if the people in Jinyi Wei deliberately framed them for their own interests?"

As soon as these words came out, the faces of everyone present changed, and Yan Jin, who was the commander of the Jinyi Guard, stood up even more angrily. Among the group, only Zhu Yuanzhang, who was sitting on the main seat, looked at the cronie next to him with complicated eyes. After being silent for a long time, the long-faced old man waved his hand at Yan Jin and motioned for him to sit down. Then the old man said in a strange tone:

"Yan Jin, although Xiao Yi is a little talkative, what he said may not be groundless. As a commander, you'd better restrain your subordinates with your heart, and don't really cause me some trouble that I can't clean up one day!"

Hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's euphemistic warning, the cold-faced uncle saluted with a somewhat flustered expression:

"Yes, the subordinates must be strictly restrained when they go back, and they will never let the master bother. ”

Nodding with a gloomy face, Zhu Yuanzhang commanded pointedly:

"Especially those who are in charge of monitoring Lan Yu, they should be handled more carefully, I don't want to be too widely implicated. ”

The cold-faced man nodded respectfully, but the atmosphere in the banquet became awkward.

At this moment, on the street not far away, two young people, a man and a woman, came. The manhood is magnificent, the sword eyebrows are eagle eyes, and the jet-black big sword behind him is particularly eye-catching. And another girl dressed in white was jumping up and down after him, the girl was pretty, and there was some coquettishness in the beauty, which attracted the sideways eyes of the men passing by.

The man and the woman went straight to the liquor shop and didn't wait for them to sit down. The sharp-eyed girl in white pointed at Bai Xiaoyi, who was stunned, and shouted:

"Idiot!