Chapter 223 Zhu Yuanzhang's Proposal
Chapter 223 Zhu Yuanzhang's Proposal

Ye Xuan also took into account the interests involved, but Hu Weiyong's plot was too big, and Hu Weiyong's desire to rebel was not just showing some signs, but had already developed to the point of colluding with military generals and secretly training troops.

In addition, Hu Weiyong had been trying to win over court officials and cultivate his own factions. He himself was one of the representative figures of the powerful Huaixi Group. Fei Ju and Lu Zhongheng were also members of the Huaixi Group.

And his teacher, Li Shanchang, was the leader of the Huaixi Group and the first of the six dukes!
It is difficult to say how much secret support Hu Weiyong had won from the Huaixi nobles, what were the hidden forces behind the scenes, and how many people secretly supported him.

If he was not arrested and imprisoned immediately, once Hu Weiyong became aware of it and launched an uprising in advance, how great a chaos would that cause?

In other words, no one dared to guarantee that Hu Weiyong's plan of rebellion had reached that stage.

However, if Hu Weiyong were to be attacked at this time, it would not only easily arouse criticism from the people of the world, but would also deal a huge blow to Zhu Yuanzhang's authority.

This was undoubtedly the most unacceptable thing for Zhu Yuanzhang!
It was even more difficult for Zhu Yuanzhang to deal with than Hu Weiyong's rebellion. After all, the empire had just been settled, and with the Mongols in the north and Japanese pirates in the east, even the country was not at peace!
Civil uprisings of all sizes are emerging one after another. While the two are talking, there may be a figure like Zhu Yuanzhang who is hiding somewhere with a few fellow villagers, discussing how to overthrow the Ming Dynasty and get rid of the damn emperor.

In the early Ming Dynasty, although Zhu Yuanzhang promoted a series of measures to restore people's livelihood, his overly radical methods also caused many social and even ethnic conflicts.

Therefore, during the Ming Dynasty, apart from the Chongzhen period, Zhu Yuanzhang's Hongwu period was the period with the most civil unrest.

Zhu Yuanzhang would never allow anything to happen under such circumstances that would make the people question him.

Ye Xuan figured this out and immediately clasped his fists and said, "Your Majesty, I think Hu Weiyong, this bastard, cannot be taken down yet!"

"Oh, what do you mean?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked with his eyes lighting up.

Ye Xuan pondered his words for a moment, and said slowly: "First of all, the Left Prime Minister is the head of all officials. Not only is he in a high position and has great power, but he is also a role model for all the civil and military officials in the court. If we rashly arrest him for treason, it will inevitably cause unnecessary misunderstandings among the officials!"

The deep meaning of Ye Xuan's words is to imply that Hu Weiyong is in a high position and has great power, second only to the emperor and above everyone else. If he is arrested rashly without solid evidence, I'm afraid the officials will not be convinced.

Since the outbreak of the Empty Seal Case, many officials and scholars have been frightened. There are even officials who make up various reasons to resign from their posts, fearing that one day they might be involved in something and lose their heads for no apparent reason.

In addition to the deaths of Yang Xian and Wang Guangyang, if Hu Weiyong was added to the list, people all over the world would think, wow, even the prime minister, the head of all officials, is killing people endlessly. Who would dare to be an official then?

Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang's thoughtful look, Ye Xuan continued, "And judging from the secret letters of rebellion that were seized, the most recent one was a month ago. In the letter, Fei Ju also mentioned to Wang Guangyang that he had just recruited a group of new soldiers and needed silver to purchase weapons and armor."

"Your Majesty is an experienced military commander. You know that it is impossible to turn new soldiers into elite troops without at least half a year of training. So I think that even if Hu Weiyong wants to start a rebellion, it is impossible in the near future."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "You have a point, but even if he doesn't rebel now, he will definitely do it one day when he is fully prepared. Am I just going to wait for him to start a rebellion?"

"Of course this is impossible," Ye Xuan said, "It's just that there is no solid evidence. It's impossible to convict Hu Weiyong based on just a dozen secret letters in hand. What's more, these secret letters were written to Wang Guangyang, and on the surface, they have nothing to do with Hu Weiyong at all!"

"As long as we use this little time to wait for the impact of Wang Guangyang's death to fade, and I have solid evidence of Hu Weiyong's rebellion, I can arrest him then. Even if some people still have random suspicions in their hearts, it won't have much impact."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, and after thinking for a moment, he said: "In that case, we have no choice but to do as you say." "It's just that there is evidence of Hu Weiyong's treason. We must verify it as soon as possible. I can't wait to chop this traitor into pieces!"

Ye Xuan nodded and said, "Yes, I understand!"

After finishing the serious business, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly laughed again.

"Ye Xuan, I like you more and more!"

Ye Xuan got goose bumps all over his body, but he immediately said modestly: "Thanks to your majesty's kindness, I will do my best to serve you until my death!"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said with a smile: "My eldest daughter has been talking about you all this time, Ye Xuan, are you really not going to consider it?"

"I am just a prostitute. How can I compare to the princess?"

Ye Xuan immediately said: "The eldest daughter of the emperor is naturally the most noble woman in the world. I am very grateful for your majesty's favor, but I have a weakness, that is, I am too deeply in love, and I really can't bear to abandon my old love."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded. In fact, he and Ye Xuan were the same kind of people.

Although he had many concubines, his favorite was always Queen Ma.

Suddenly, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly said, "What if I allow you to marry the princess and then find a house outside to keep that prostitute? You can be with your ex-girlfriend and marry the princess at the same time. Do you agree?"

Ye Xuan was shocked beyond words. He didn't expect that Zhu Yuanzhang would allow him to marry the princess and keep a mistress outside.

This was unheard of not only in the Ming Dynasty, but even in the Tang and Song dynasties.

If I refuse again, it would be a bit ungrateful.

But Ye Xuan really doesn’t want to marry a princess!
Even if he could hire a concubine, Ye Xuan's ambition was more than just a concubine.

Not to mention Nianwei, there are also Caidie and Qianer. How should they be settled? And there is also Beishan Royal Manor...

Thinking about it gave me a headache, so I just said perfunctorily, "I'm afraid Her Royal Highness the Princess won't agree."

Unexpectedly, Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and said, "My worthless daughter once said that she not only doesn't care about you having a concubine, but she even asked me to allow you to do so. It's just that I didn't agree at that time."

"Now that I think about it, she's just a woman. It's no big deal. You can just keep her as long as you're truly kind to the princess."

(End of this chapter)