The hereditary king of Dong'an came from the hereditary king of Chu. He was granted the title in the twelfth year of Zhengtong and has succeeded him to this day. The contemporary king of Dong'an, Ta Shenglang, is a contemporary of the Chu king Zhu Shengzhi who now lives in Fuzhou, but he is older than the Chu grandson.

Bigger than a lot.

At this moment, I saw Chen Kai step forward to salute him. Before he could stand firmly, he quickly stepped forward to help him, saying nothing and not letting Chen Kai salute him. After Chen Kai was helped steady, he even took three steps and two steps at a time.

He went forward and bowed respectfully to Li Dingguo.

"Your Highness is a vassal of the clan. This king cannot bear this ceremony."

"It deserves it, it deserves it. Without His Highness the King of Jin, and without Chen Jinglue, how could the little king have seen Huguang return to the rule of the Ming Dynasty so quickly?"

Dong'an King Zhu Shenglang's posture was very low, and the general did not show any surprise. Only after the two sides had seen the etiquette, he came forward, saluted Li Dingguo and Chen Kai, and said in a loud voice: "

Hao Yongzhong, the last general, has met His Royal Highness the King of Jin and Chen Jinglue."

"The Duke of Yiguo is free from gifts."

"Mr. Yi Guo is so polite."

Yiguo Gong Hao Yongzhong, who was called by Qu Shiqi who stayed in Guilin, was the remnant of Hao Ni's Dashun army, and was also a powerful faction among the generals in Kuidong. After the courtesy was observed, Zhu Sheng stood expressionlessly.

Behind him, Zhu Shenglang didn't say a word, just letting Zhu Shenglang chat with Li Dingguo and Chen Kai.

After looking at Zhu Shenglang and then at Hao Yongzhong, Chen Kai, who had lost interest in continuing to chat with them, simply said something that was not surprising, and directly released the bombshell that "the emperor abandoned the country",

Hao Yongzhong's subordinates, who had no scruples, were still standing on both sides.

"ah?"

"how come?"

This time, Zhu Shenglang's mouth grew so big that Hao Yongzhong couldn't hold it any longer. However, before Hao Yongzhong could say anything, Zhu Shenglang's rosy face suddenly turned pale, as if he had been pricked by a needle.

General, he quickly bowed to Li Dingguo and Chen Kai and said: "Your Highness, King Jin, Chen Jinglue, please forgive Xiao Wang for being unwell, and please return to Fang County for medical treatment." After that, he turned around and bowed to Hao Yongzhong.

Said: "I'd like to trouble Duke Yi to arrange the trip."

What does it mean when the emperor abandons his country? In addition to the confusion of the people, the more direct thing is that the emperor's throne is unstable. He is just a side branch, and he is only a county prince. How dare he get involved in this. Originally, this trip was to take advantage of the opportunity.

Before Wen Anzhi arrived, he first became familiar with Li Dingguo and Chen Kai, so as to prepare for his smooth return to the fiefdom in the future. When Wen Anzhi arrived, these important officials of the imperial court would begin to discuss state affairs, and it would be inconvenient for him to be a member of the clan.

It was such an occasion. As a result, who knew that this kind of thing would happen again? At this moment, he felt as if he was running away. He wished he could get his wings and go back to Fang County directly, where he would be bored in his bed in Dong'an Prince's Mansion for a few days.

"Your Highness, it doesn't have to be like this." Facing Zhu Shenglang's request, Hao Yongzhong just subconsciously responded with a salute. He still didn't behave too abruptly. It was obvious that the King of Dong'an was very polite to him on weekdays.

.After seeing this scene, Chen Kai said with a smile, and then told everything about the wartime cabinet, without any intention of avoiding taboos.

"I have agreed with His Royal Highness the King of Jin and His Highness the King of Fujian who is in Zhili in the south to prepare for the establishment of a wartime cabinet following the old practice of Zhou Zhaogong. The emperor cannot abandon the country, so let's divide our luggage and disperse, shall we?"

Hearing Chen Kai's witty words, Zhu Shenglang even regretted it. Now it is not just as simple as the throne, but also involves Li Dingguo, Zheng Chenggong and Chen Kai, important officials of the court and powerful military factions. Think about it carefully,

They certainly can't go behind Wen Anzhi's back. Now that the Emperor is not in the country, no matter what decision these top civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty make, it will not matter what they say. The only bad thing is that they will end up being inhumane inside and out.

"Chen Jinglue's words are reasonable, Chen Jinglue's words are reasonable, but this is a major court matter, Xiao Wang is really, really... Xiao Wang kindly asks to return to Fang County for medical treatment."

Here we go again. Chen Kai really had nothing to say about his illness, but he had no intention of embarrassing Zhu Shenglang, so he allowed him to return to Fang County. Then, he told Hao Yongzhong to comfort the Dong'an man.

Wang Yier, don't worry too much about this. They didn't intend for him to get involved. They just wanted to be healthy and recuperate.

"When Inspector Wen arrives, we will discuss the matter of recovering Wuchang together."

After seeing off Zhu Shenglang and Hao Yongzhong, Chen Kai and Li Dingguo, who was already frowning, returned to the Chinese army's tent. After retreating, Chen Kai didn't say much nonsense and directly asked Li Dingguo: "Today is a good day."

Does Ning Yu think the Duke's attitude toward King Dong'an looks familiar?"

Of course they look familiar. Ming soldiers who were born as bandits basically never dared to be disrespectful to the Ming Dynasty clan, with the exception of Sun Kewang. But everyone knew what Sun Kewang was thinking, and that guy didn't care at all.

Seeing the resurgence of the Ming Dynasty. But they are different. They united with the Ming Dynasty to fight against the Qing Dynasty, and wanted to use the banner of the Ming Dynasty to eliminate the Manchu Qing Dynasty. When all this is over, they will naturally get rid of the name of thieves and become the Ming Dynasty.

The nobles, or shareholders, will also enjoy the dividends of Ming's shares for future generations, and will be rich and prosperous from now on.

On the other hand, they also have hidden worries, that is, under the traditional imperial thinking, their struggle for survival in the past led to chaos in the world, and they are rebellious officials and traitors. When the Ming Dynasty is restored, there is no guarantee that no one will want to settle accounts later.

At that time, in addition to the army, what they could rely on was the emperor's generosity. Hao Yongzhong kept King Dong'an in the army and served him delicious food. After all, he was not thinking about Dong'an when someone settled the accounts in the future.

The king can stand up and say a few good words in front of the emperor for him.

"So, you want to make the emperor lose the power to attack us." After saying the words, Li Dingguo shook his head violently: "Jingcheng, my Majesty is so kind, I can't stop doing this!"

"Yes, I also believe that Jin Shang is kind." Chen Kai confirmed Li Dingguo's judgment, but the but still came as promised: "But, can you guarantee that the prince can also inherit this kindness? Can you guarantee that the prince's prince will inherit it?"

Will I inherit this kindness? Ning Yu, you can’t guarantee it!"

"I……"

Without letting Li Dingguo think clearly about what he wanted to express, Chen Kai raised his hand slightly, and his deep gaze seemed to look to the other side of time and space: "Many years ago, I imagined that if one day the Ming Dynasty was revived, the emperor would

What kind of meritorious title will you give me?"

"The title of hero?" Li Dingguo didn't understand how Chen Kai's mind jumped to this. Moreover, compared to the title, the title of hero was quite unfamiliar to him, at least he had never had one before.

"Yes, the titles of meritorious officials. The honors conferred by Taizu during the founding of the country and Chengzu Jingnan all have the title of meritorious officials. The former is a civil servant who promoted honesty and integrity for the founding of the country, or a military official who promoted honesty and power for the founding of the country.

Is it to promote the sincerity of civil servants to support the country, to promote the sincerity of military ministers to declare power, or to inherit the ancestral legacy, to promote the sincerity of military ministers to maintain integrity? Basically, it all varies from person to person, is it interesting?"

Chen Kai's thinking mode always seems to be different from others, but before Li Dingguo could catch up, he continued: "But during the search process, I discovered a fact that made my hair stand on end."

"What's up?"

In his eyes, Chen Kai has always been a bold person. There are things in this world that can make his hair stand on end, which is really hard for Li Dingguo to believe.

"Ning Yu, do you know how many nobles Taizu canonized during his reign, and how many of them retained their titles until Taizu's death?"

How could Li Dingguo, a prince who was a bandit, know this? So Chen Kai asked himself and answered: "In Taizu's reign, not counting posthumous titles, there were nine dukes, fifty marquises, and four counts. When Taizu's reign, there were nine dukes, fifty marquises, and four counts.

At the time of his death, only five princes, four marquises and one earl were left."

"this……"

From the peak of sixty-three noble families, there were only ten families left. In just thirty years, this huge gap was so shocking that Li Dingguo couldn't explain the reason for a while. At this time, Chen Kai

Without waiting for him to calm down, he explained the reasons one by one.

"I have carefully checked and found that most of the fifty-three noble families were implicated in the Hu Weiyong case and the Lan Yu case. A few were expelled because of other crimes. Only three families were expelled because they had no heirs to inherit.

of."

"Some people say that Taizu felt that Emperor Jianwen was too young to control these nobles, so he had to thorn him. But Emperor Xiaokang died in the 25th year of Hongwu, and the Lan Yu case was solved in the 26th year of Hongwu.

There are only fifteen families of nobles. The Hu Weiyong case that was most implicated in your honor was the case, but it happened twelve years ago. Could it be that Taizu could have predicted that a man with white hair would give a man with black hair twelve years in advance?

this day?"

"Some people also say that Taizu did not pull out the thorn for Emperor Jianwen, but for Emperor Xiaokang. This is even more ridiculous. Emperor Xiaokang has been the crown prince since the 10th year of Dragon and Phoenix, when Taizu called him King Wu, and the first year of Hongwu.

, which is equivalent to being the crown prince for nearly thirty years. His foundation is so deep that no one in the Ming Dynasty can compare with him. When he was alive, even Chengzu had to be as obedient as possible, so he needed Taizu's help.

Did he pull out the thorn?"

Emperor Xiaokang was Zhu Biao and Emperor Jianwen was Zhu Yunwen. Seeing Li Dingguo still looking at him with wide eyes, Chen Kai made his conclusion: "In Taizu's dynasty, there were never only the Hu Weiyong case and the Lan Yu case. Kong Kong

In the Yin case and the Guo Huan case, officials from all over the world were recorded in the fourth year of Hongwu. In the nineteenth year of Hongwu, officials were arrested who had been harming the people for many years. In the twenty-third year of Hongwu, they were convicted of lying. As many as hundreds of thousands of people were killed successively.

There are only a few nobles, and the people Taizu wants to kill are never the nobles, but those who break the law and harm the people. Because those nobles collude with corrupt officials, profiteers and people, so Taizu kills them all."

"The former Prime Minister of the Song Dynasty, Han Yuanzhou, once said something like this in his Northern Expedition. He said: God's way is good, and China must do it; people obey, and every man will avenge himself. Taizu also quoted this statement. But in my opinion

, Taizu himself was exactly like this."

"When Taizu was young, there was a drought in the Huaihe River, locusts, and plagues came one after another, and the whole family was almost wiped out. Didn't the Yuan Dynasty at that time provide relief? In fact, there was some, but all the food and money were misappropriated by corrupt officials.

Therefore, it was not just natural disasters and violence that killed Taizu's family. The biggest culprits were corrupt officials. Because of this, during the years when Taizu was in power, he was the most ruthless against corrupt officials in all dynasties.

What I have never seen is precisely due to the deep-seated hatred hidden deep in my heart and the worry about the future of the Ming Dynasty."

"The ten noble families who survived until the death of Taizu, Duke Xu Da of Wei, Duke Chang Yuchun of E, Duke Li Wenzhong of Cao, and Duke Deng Yu of Wei all died young. Their heirs either guarded their families or engaged in illegal activities.

He was punished, but Taizu did not get rid of his title because of his old love. Tang He, the Duke of Xin, Geng Bingwen, the Marquis of Changxing, and Wu Liang, the Marquis of Jiangyin, had been stationed on the front line of defense against Zhang Shicheng for a long time. These three families were in conflict with Huaixi who had already colluded with those corrupt officials.

The nobles had very few interactions with each other. Hou Muying of Xiping was the godson of Taizu. He only recognized Taizu, Empress Ma and Emperor Xiaokang in his life. Empress Ma died of illness in the fifteenth year of Hongwu. She was so sad that she coughed up blood. Ten years later,

Emperor Xiaokang passed away, which made him even more heartbroken and fell ill. He died of illness in just two months. Sincere uncle Liu Bowen was from eastern Zhejiang, and he and Li Shanchang were political enemies of Hu Weiyong. He was also killed by Hu Weiyong, so he could not be involved.

Among them. Therefore, their titles can be spared."

No one has ever told Li Dingguo these things. Even in this era, no one has reclassified them to trigger thinking. But Chen Kai's era was an era of information explosion. What he knew

There are so many things that no one can imagine in this era.

"What about another family?"

Indeed, Chen Kai only mentioned nine companies, but he left this gap just to see if Li Dingguo really used his brain. Since he had gotten the answer he wanted, he naturally would not hide anything: "

During the years when the princes of Wuding purchased many properties, Guo Ying did not take any of them. His food and clothing expenses depended only on Taizu's rewards and salary.

Concubine Ning later also took photos of the affairs of the Sixth Palace."

The other nine noble families were indeed spared, but Wuding Hou Guo Ying was a counterexample. Not only was he spared, but he was also highly regarded. After hearing this, Li Dingguo believed Chen Kai's previous conclusion a little more. However, this

What does it have to do with restraining imperial power?

"Ning Yu, what Taizu has always wanted to build is a country where the people can have enough to eat. However, during the Tianqi and Chongzhen years, especially during the Chongzhen years, you have witnessed what the world has become.

What you see.”

"Well, I heard Li Chuang once said that the emperor is not very secretive, and the ministers are doing their own selfish things. It must be those treacherous sycophants who deceive Sheng Cong!"

How stubborn is the stamp of feudal thought? Chen Kai also sighed in his heart. Fortunately, he had no intention of completely transforming Li Dingguo into a new May Fourth youth: "Well, I've heard this too. But I also heard a sentence

, it is said that every time Liehuang wanted to raise taxes, and every time Liehuang refused to give up the exemptions and exemptions requested by the local government due to disasters, he would say the previous sentence: It will temporarily harm our people for one year. Year after year, he said

For seventeen years, it has become a mantra."

This remark was later written into a poem, saying, "I have recently heard that I have added a poem to the people's fields, which has temporarily burdened our people for another year." The irony is not Chongzhen's hypocrisy.

Li Dingguo was stunned when he heard Chen Kai's yin and yang aura. It's not like he had just had enough food for a few years to forget all about the suffering he had suffered as a teenager: "It turned out to be..."

"Hey, Ning Yu, I heard that there were kings of Yao and Shun above, and ministers of Yao and Shun below. If the king hadn't been stupid, any treacherous minister would have been beheaded long ago. But after Emperor Lie ascended the throne, how many ministers did he kill?

, but the national affairs are becoming more and more corrupt. In the final analysis, the root of the problem lies with himself. Unlike Emperor Gao, he has experienced the suffering of the people and feels that the people have suffered for several years. It is not a big deal, but

Little did they know that not to mention a few years ago, under the years of severe disasters, even if they were compensated for the evening, the people would starve to death in droves, and the Lie Emperor actually still collected taxes. Emperor Xizong came

Before his death, Yin Yin once told Emperor Lie that my brother should be regarded as Yao and Shun, but this is how he regarded Yao and Shun? It is clear that he spoke the words of Yao and Shun, but actually acted like Jie and Zhou!"

Those memories that he thought were dead not only suddenly came to life at this moment, but were also attacking his heart crazily, making Li Dingguo look pale and sweat profusely.

Chen Kai knew very well that these words would not have such an effect on Zheng Chenggong, Zhang Huangyan, or Wen Anzhi, because people's experiences are completely different, and they have never experienced anything like Li Dingguo's.

He was once on the verge of starving to death for a long time. If Zhang Xianzhong had not adopted Li Dingguo, the Ming Dynasty would not have the Jin King it is today.

"The emperor is stupid and his ministers are treacherous, and the people are harmed. I never think it was wrong for you to wait and struggle to survive, because if you are wrong, how can Emperor Gao explain it? Whether it is Li Chuang or your Gan Da, they

What they accomplished was the great cause of the Tang-Wu revolution. However, they each had their own problems, and they all failed in the end. Therefore, they are thieves who succeed as kings and lose as bandits, and you, Yuan Zongdi, Liu Tichun, Hao Yongzhong, and Li Laiheng,

You are all thieves at the same time. But is it you who are wrong? Have you dreamed of bringing trouble to the world since the day you were born?"

"No, I never thought about bringing trouble to the world. It's not me who's wrong, it's those foolish kings and traitorous ministers who are wrong!"

Li Dingguo burst into tears as he said these words word by word, and those fading memories became clear again. With Chen Kai's encouragement, they repeatedly impacted those things that he had always believed to be a matter of course.

He secretly said "Sorry", but Chen Kai did not stop because of this. Instead, he continued to extend his thoughts: "I am kind today, and I am willing to believe that the prince will also be a benevolent king in the future, but

The problem is that Jin Shang is just kind, but he is also incredibly stupid. In the future, once the Ming Dynasty is thrown into chaos by Jin Shang or the prince, the people will have no way to survive but to rise up. At that time, as the pillar of the country,

You want to suppress them or not. Anyway, I can’t do it because I know it’s not their fault.”

"What I have to do is to restrict the emperor's power and prevent those descendants of the Tian family who are ignorant of the sufferings of the people from causing harm to the country and the people, because they are not Emperor Gao. I believe that Emperor Gao can understand and support what I am doing, because Emperor Gao also

There is no guarantee that his descendants will not have such a foolish king again!"

Through history, Chen Kai knew very well that during the Kunming period, Yongli had three loyal ministers, or three major stakes, in the military. They were Mu Tianbo, Li Dingguo and Liu Wenxiu. Among these three, Mu Tianbo was included

Manage the Forbidden Army and are directly responsible for his safety; Li Dingguo and Liu Wenxiu are outside, responsible for attacking Huguang and operating Sichuan respectively. Now that Liu Wenxiu is dead, Mu Tianbo followed him to Burma.

Separating the concept of being together and transforming Yongli's last corner in the country is a victory for him!

The best way to win is not to try every means to let Li Dingguo forcefully separate the concepts of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism. For an adult in the feudal era, that is half the result with half the effort. He only needs to transform his loyalty to Yongli into his loyalty to the Ming Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty.

Ming Taizu's loyalty is enough. After all, no matter how great the emperor Zhu Youlang is, can he still be greater than Zhu Yuanzhang?

"Emperor Gao?" Li Dingguo clearly remembered that Chen Kai told him at that time that the wartime cabinet was fighting for the Ming Empire established by Emperor Gao. They were naturally loyal ministers of Emperor Gao and the Ming Empire.

"Yes." Chen Kai nodded, and then said sincerely: "Actually, this matter is also a good thing for today."

Li Dingguo couldn't understand that it was a good thing to have his power restricted. Seeing his doubts, Chen Kai said frankly: "Ning Yu, do you think that Emperor Wu Zong and Emperor Xizong fell into the water before they died?

Is it an accident?"

"What did you say!"

Such shocking words really startled Li Dingguo. But Chen Kai did not stop because of his interruption: "I don't know the truth, and I am not interested in spending time exploring it. But I know,

When they were in power, they all tried to regain power through eunuchs or military generals from other towns, and many ministers in the court opposed it. When some things come to this level, it is not up to you and me to have the final say. Let go of the power to interfere in the government's affairs.

, enjoy wealth and honor in the harem, and no longer have to worry about the little power in your hands. A carefree emperor of peace should be more suitable for a person like this."

In this way, Li Dingguo can let go of his last little debt to Yongli, right?

The tearing feeling that had been bothering him since the last discussion about the war cabinet became more obvious at this moment. Li Dingguo lowered his head and remained silent. Chen Kai also stopped making a sound and just watched quietly.

That's it. It wasn't until a long time later that Li Dingguo slowly raised his head, and his whole person seemed to look different.

"Jingcheng, can you guarantee that the affairs of the state will not be corrupted again after the emperor gives up power?"

"I can't guarantee that." Chen Kai shook his head, but he didn't show any helplessness. He was still as high-spirited as ever: "I heard that many people in the court criticized Governor Guo and said that I used the Advisory Bureau.

He wanted to bribe his people with his position as a member of parliament, so he colluded with me. Huh, those idiots, they don’t understand anything!”

"The reason why Governor Guo acquiesced to what I did was because I told him at that time that the Ming Dynasty's ancestral system could no longer save the Ming Dynasty. He had been in the place for many years and naturally understood this truth. And I gave it to the Ming Dynasty.

A chance for a new life. I can't guarantee that what I do is definitely right, but if I don't change, Ming Dynasty will be a dead end. At most, it will be the difference between early death and late death. Therefore, I am willing to work hard for this, even if it means sacrificing my body.

"

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Chapter completed!