Chapter 61: Raising an Army to Relieve the Rebellion
[In the intercalary fifth month of the 31st year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang passed away.

In July of the 31st year of Hongwu, the first unlucky guy, King Zhou, was reported and exposed by his second son Zhu Youjie, and was escorted to Beijing by Li Jinglong under the order of Emperor Jianwen. In August, he was exiled to Menghua, Yunnan.

In August of the 31st year of Hongwu, Zhu Yunwen issued another decree to arrest Zhu Yu, the Prince of Qi, Zhu Gui, the Prince of Dai, and Zhu Yu, the Prince of Min. Later, in April of the first year of Jianwen, Zhu Yu, the Prince of Qi, and Zhu Gui, the Prince of Dai, were demoted to commoners for their crimes; in June of the first year of Jianwen, Zhu Yu, the Prince of Min, was deposed as a commoner and exiled to Zhangzhou for his crimes.

In April of the first year of Jianwen, Prince of Xiang Zhu Bo had no way to prove himself, so he and his family burned themselves to death. After his death, his fiefdom was revoked and he was given the evil posthumous title of "Li".

These examples made Prince of Yan Zhu Di increasingly uneasy, and he gradually began to think about raising an army.

“Why?” Xiang Wang Zhu Bo was still young. When he heard about his own miserable fate, self-immolation and bad posthumous name, he was extremely sad and angry. “Uncle, what hatred do you have against you? You forced me to this point. Am I not your flesh and blood?”

Zhu Biao was also dissatisfied. Zhu Yunwen was only three years old and was not a child he valued on a daily basis. Naturally, he did not want to get close to his brothers who were dozens of years older. He was also angry that his son had forced his uncle to this extent. At the same time, he also thought of another aspect, which was that it was no wonder that after his fourth brother started the rebellion, there was no mention of the vassal kings guarding the capital and suppressing the rebellion in the miracles. The emperor made the vassal kings like this, so how could the vassal kings be willing to fight for the court?
Zhu Yuanzhang just kept silent. After all, they were his sons, and it was really tragic that they were exiled or even burned to death one by one. He divided his children and grandchildren into different places, hoping that the descendants of the Zhu family would be prosperous and wealthy without affecting the central government. He never wanted his children and grandchildren to suffer such a situation, and it was caused by the heir he chose! Like Zhu Biao, he didn't pay much attention to this grandson on weekdays, and at this moment, he couldn't help but feel a little disgusted.

[Under such circumstances, Zhu Di began to accumulate strength. He recruited soldiers and recruited talented people.

There was a very important person around Zhu Di, that is, the future black-robed prime minister, Daoyan monk Yao Guangxiao, the only civil official in the Ming Dynasty who was allowed to be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. He gave Zhu Di advice and strongly suggested that Zhu Di raise an army to quell the rebellion; at the same time, he also recommended the sorcerer Yuan Gong to Zhu Di.

After discussing with the two, Zhu Di began to strengthen his guard by recruiting strong, brave and talented people.

We have to interrupt here. In theory, a prince in the early Ming Dynasty could have three garrisons, each of which had about 5,500 soldiers. That means the basic force of a powerful prince was about 20,000. Zhu Di actually controlled more people than this number because he was stationed in the north. So it's no wonder that Emperor Jianwen regarded him as a serious threat.

Such movements would naturally not be hidden from Zhu Yunwen after a long time.

In response, Zhu Yunwen ordered the transfer of Zhu Di's guards, and replaced the governor, commander-in-chief, and commander-in-chief's office in Beiping with his own people, and ordered them to closely monitor Zhu Di. At the same time, Ge Cheng, the chief historian of the Prince of Yan's Palace, also became the internal response of Emperor Jianwen.

However, at that time, Emperor Jianwen had far more power than Zhu Di, which was why he did not think he would fail.

In March of the first year of Jianwen, Zhu Yunwen ordered Governor Song Zhong to lead 30,000 troops to garrison Kaiping, Governor Geng Lin to train troops in Shanhaiguan, and Xu Kai to train troops in Linqing. He also transferred the two guards of Beiping and Yongqing to be stationed in Zhangde and Shunde.

In this way, an encirclement was formed in the southeast, northwest and northeast of Zhu Di; at the same time, all the forces in Zhu Di's hands were transferred away.

Is this ready? How can you lose when you hit a dragon on your face? 】

Ming Dynasty, the 13th year of Hongwu.

A group of people couldn't help but look at each other in strange expressions. Indeed, according to what was said in the sky curtain, Zhu Yunwen had made countermeasures. Now the Prince of Yan had no power and no one, and there were armies around him. There were people watching Beiping City and the Prince's Palace at all times. In this situation, he actually lost in the end. It really made people wonder what to say.

However, everyone also noticed "Monk Daoyan". A civil servant was entitled to be worshipped in the Imperial Ancestral Temple? Well, he was also a monk? They couldn't help but secretly look at Zhu Yuanzhang. After all, everyone knew that Wansui was also a monk in his past.

Han Dynasty, the first year of Yuanshuo.

Liu Che looked at the sky and complained half-truthfully: "The control of the Ming Dynasty court is so strong that Emperor Jianwen can directly transfer the troops of the vassal kings. When the previous emperor reduced the power of the vassal kings, he was very careful and fearful of making a wrong move."

"But Your Majesty," the young Huo Qubing said flamboyantly, "Emperor Jianwen still lost. The Prince of Yan must have a very outstanding general!" When he said this, his eyes sparkled.

Liu Che choked and said, "That's because Emperor Jianwen was too stupid."

【However, Zhu Yunwen released the three brothers of the Prince of Yan, who were in Beijing to mourn and were actually held hostage, back to Beijing. First, Zhu Di wrote a letter saying that he was ill and asked his sons to come back to take care of him, and Emperor Jianwen decided to release them after consulting many people.

Huang Zicheng should also be mentioned here. Zhu Di should really thank him for his success. Others advised to release the people because they had their own selfish reasons, but Huang Zicheng also advised to release the people, and the reason was to "paralyze the King of Yan so that he could take advantage of the opportunity when the time comes." Good fellow, everyone can see that you are trying to reduce the power of the vassal states, and you are paralyzing the King of Yan, which is clearly a gift from heaven to the King of Yan. 】

“……”This kid couldn’t help but praise!

Everyone during the Hongwu period could not help but look at each other in confusion.

Not to mention the royal family, the important officials in the court were all worried about themselves in the miracle. Following such a sage, how can the official life be good? He trusted the three young scholars wholeheartedly, without thinking whether these three people were reliable. Just like what was said in the sky, your intention to reduce the power of the vassal states is completely Sima Zhao's heart - passers-by know it! Not only the King of Yan, but anyone will not think that you let him go just because you released his son.

Moreover, the precedent of the five vassal kings, especially the King of Xiang, who committed self-immolation is still before our eyes.

Ming Dynasty, the 16th year of Yongle.

Seeing Tianmu mention this, Zhu Di smiled from the bottom of his heart: "I really want to thank Huang Zicheng. Without him, how could I get such a good gift!"

Zhu Gaochi recalled how cautious his three brothers were in Yingtian Prefecture and how they had to sleep in the open on the way back, and he sighed, "We should thank him."

The ministers under him, especially those who had contributed greatly to the Jingnan Campaign, were also overjoyed.

Han Dynasty, the first year of Yuanshuo.

When Liu Che saw Zhu Yunwen acting in this way, he couldn't help but feel a little weird.

"What are you thinking?" He murmured, "Aung killed the crown prince Liu Xian of Wu back then..."

The ministers around were watching with their eyes and their noses, and since the matter involved the late emperor, it was better for them not to hear it.

【Zhu Di did not disappoint Zhu Yunwen's wish. After seeing Zhu Gaochi and the other two return, he felt that it was God's will on his side, so he became more determined to start a rebellion.】

"Fourth brother," Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Di.

Zhu Di responded, thinking to himself, Dad, are you going to hit me again? That's me in the future, what does it have to do with me now? Besides, I think my idea is right. My son can actually come back. If it's not God on my side, what else could it be?

"Your idea is fine." Zhu Yuanzhang spoke slowly. Hmm? Dad not only didn't beat me, but also praised me?

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Di's expression and eyes, and felt the urge to beat him up again.

[So, what was the situation of the King of Yan before he started the rebellion? ]

Everyone pricked up their ears.

This is a living example of a successful rebellion by a vassal king! Moreover, it seems that there is still a big gap between his power and that of the imperial court. What kind of situation he was in, what methods he adopted, and how he succeeded in the rebellion are all worth learning from! Even if it is gossip, it is a good melon.

Han Dynasty, the first year of Yuanshou.

Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, watched the miracle carefully. He also had to understand how the Prince of Yan of the Ming Dynasty did it, in case there were any vassal kings in the Han Dynasty who were determined to rebel.

Huainan, King Liu An of Huainan looked at the miracle and became hopeful. He wondered if he could also succeed if he could learn from the King of Yan.
[We know that Emperor Jianwen sent many people to monitor Prince Yan. And the Prince of Yan Zhu Di's way of dealing with it was to pretend to be crazy.]

Everyone was stunned.

[He laughed and shouted in the streets, sometimes snatched other people's food and drinks, often talked nonsense, and sometimes slept on the mud all day. When Zhang Bing, the governor of Peking, and Xie Gui, the commander-in-chief, who were responsible for monitoring him, went to the palace to see him, they saw him shivering around the stove in the middle of summer and saying "it's too cold."

He acted crazy and stupid to this extent just to dispel Emperor Jianwen's suspicion and buy time for himself. 】

Ming Dynasty, during the Hongwu period.

Prince of Zhou Zhu Su looked at Zhu Di with amazement on his face, his tone full of admiration: "Fourth brother, you are so awesome. This is too cruel." He could actually be so cruel and shameless to himself.

Zhu Di's face twitched. Although he felt that he had done nothing wrong in the sky, and that he would be able to do this in the future, it did not mean that he was willing to accept the gazes of others now! This was a strange gaze of admiration and respect.

The early years of the Han Dynasty.

Liu Bang had just filled his wine cup. Seeing this, he couldn't help but laugh and said in a tone of praise: "Good boy, you have the style of a master!" After that, he picked up the wine cup and drank it all. Then he looked around at everyone and said with a smile, "If you want to do great things, you have to be shameless!"

Empress Lu had no expression on her face, she sneered in her heart, it's one thing to be shameless for great things, it's another to be a scoundrel like you. She turned her head and saw Liu Ying, and saw that he didn't smile or think about Liu Bang's words, but seemed to disagree. She could only sigh deeply, if Ying'er continued like this, how much could she help him by herself? She didn't know who she resembled, Liu Bang was a scoundrel, she wasn't a good person either, how could she have such a son?
Liu Ying did not agree with Liu Bang's words. Those who achieve great things do not care about trivial matters, but they cannot be completely shameless. This is not the way of a sage. But he was powerless to refute his father's words and could only remain silent.

Xiao He saw Liu Ying's expression and could only sigh inwardly. The prince was really unlike his father. Nor was he like his mother. Now that His Majesty favored Lady Qi and Prince Ruyi, he might depose the prince, but how could the Queen sit back and do nothing? The turmoil was far from over.

Empress Lü saw Liu Ying, Xiao He saw Liu Ying, how could Liu Bang not notice Liu Ying's expression? He said nothing, but smacked his lips, thinking, this son is really not like me, I'm afraid he can't handle the big responsibility.

[So did Emperor Jianwen believe it? He still had doubts.

Qi Tai arrested Deng Yong, a centurion of the Prince of Yan's guard, who was in Beijing to report to the emperor. During the interrogation, Deng Yong confessed that the Prince of Yan was preparing to rebel. Emperor Jianwen then secretly ordered Zhang Bing, the governor of Beiping, to capture the Prince of Yan and contacted Ge Cheng, the chief historian of the palace, and Lu Zhen, the commander, as internal support.

It was June of the first year of Emperor Jianwen's reign, and the tense atmosphere gradually reached its peak.

Tang Dynasty, the third year of Zhenguan.

Li Shimin and everyone else looked at the sky, and the atmosphere in the hall was very relaxed.

General Tian Ce said lazily, half jokingly, half seriously: "Well, someone should tell the Prince of Yan that Emperor Jianwen is going to take action against him. Otherwise, in the current unfavorable situation, if he completely loses the initiative, it will be really difficult for him to succeed."

The ministers laughed quietly, and they all remembered that a few years ago, before the planning of the Xuanwu Gate Incident, it was Wang Chao, who was the chief officer of the Prince's Mansion, who came to the Qin Palace from the Prince's Mansion to report the news.

[At this time, the first traitor appeared!

At that time, Emperor Jianwen sent three officials to monitor Prince of Yan Zhu Di. In addition to Zhang Bing and Xie Gui, who we mentioned earlier, who went to visit Zhu Di when he was pretending to be crazy, there was also a man named Zhang Xin, who jointly controlled the power of the Beiping Commandery with Xie Gui.

The reason why he switched to King of Yan is not clear in history.

According to historical records, he was very worried since he and Zhang Bing received the secret order to seize the Prince of Yan. So he told his mother about it. His mother was shocked and said that she heard that Beiping had the aura of an emperor and the Prince of Yan should be the emperor. She advised him not to act rashly. While he was hesitating, Emperor Jianwen issued another secret order to arrest the Prince of Yan. Seeing that the matter was urgent, Zhang Xin immediately went to ask for an audience with the Prince of Yan, but was rejected three times. Finally, he took a woman's carriage to the gate of the palace and finally succeeded. When he arrived at the inner room of the palace, he bowed and told the Prince of Yan everything.

Zhu Di got the news from Zhang Xin, and then he called in the monk Daoyan to formally plan to start a rebellion.

Ming Dynasty, the 13th year of Hongwu.

Everyone was speechless as they listened to the miracle-like account of how Zhang Xin surrendered to the King of Yan.

"Fourth brother, it seems that Zhang Xin really wants to join your army." Xiang Wang Zhu Bo curled his lips. Others nodded.

Really. What were you worried about when you received the secret order to arrest the Prince of Yan? Were you worried that you couldn't do it? If that's the case, why didn't you discuss it with your colleagues? What did you say to your mother? Even if some of Emperor Jianwen's actions seemed magical, the overall situation was still favorable to the court. If you didn't have your heart set on the Prince of Yan, what was there to worry about?
Later, when things became urgent, your choice was to run and tell King Yan. You persisted even when you couldn't see King Yan. Could it be that you have already been King Yan's man, or had you long wanted to surrender to the enemy?
【At this time, Zhang Bing and others were also making preparations. They deployed their guards and garrison soldiers to Beiping City, and sent people to report the situation to Beijing. At this time, the second traitor appeared. Li You, a clerk of the Beiping Provincial Administration Office, stole the draft of the memorial and presented it to the Prince of Yan's Mansion.

So, don’t underestimate every little person. Sometimes a little person can change the situation.

Upon receiving the news, Zhu Di immediately ordered the palace guards Zhang Yu, Zhu Neng and others to lead 800 soldiers to defend the palace.

Zhu Di started his army with these eight hundred soldiers. 】

(End of this chapter)