After meeting the King of Shu, Zhu Youxiao first lamented to him that it was difficult to be an emperor, and that one person was the leader and the other was the emperor.
The sentence on the left is "Uncle King of Shu" and the sentence on the right is "Uncle King of Shu". He lowered his posture and complained in front of Zhu Zhishu.
He even uttered a phrase that was widely used in later generations. He was under pressure that he shouldn't be under at this age and couldn't resist it.
Even Zhu Zhishu, the king of Shu, who had no feelings for him, was deceived by his distant nephew's true feelings and continued to comfort him.
Even if His Majesty has the protection of his ancestors, all obstacles will be defeated.
But Zhu Youxiao didn't pick up his topic at all, and still kept talking to himself.
He complained to him that the court was full of corrupt officials, and the rats in the treasury were starving to death. He scrimped on food and clothing every day just to save some money so that the court would not be left with nothing.
Then he inadvertently exposed the corners of his clothes that had been patched a few times, so that the King of Shu could really see all this.
Zhu Youxiao grasped the timing very well and found the angle perfectly. The King of Shu didn't think too much about it at the moment.
But if you want him to believe that the emperor is poor, he will never believe it. He is not that stupid and can be deceived so easily.
So Zhu Youxiao launched a new offensive, fell directly on the King of Shu, hugged the King of Shu tightly and wailed in an extremely miserable voice:
"Uncle King Shu, I'm really suffering and under too much pressure. If I didn't come out to relax and meet my relatives in the Zhu family, I would have gone crazy."
The King of Shu, who was already confused, is even more confused now. What does His Majesty want to do?
Didn't he come to fight? Why did he come to me to complain and cry about poverty?
But he did not dare to question him at all, so he had to pretend that he knew nothing, and comforted the emperor with sincere words, asking the emperor to cheer up and learn how to govern the country.
When Zhu Youxiao saw that the King of Shu had fallen into the trap, he stopped continuing. After all, acting was a technical job, and he was really afraid that the King of Shu would bring back the taste.
He came to Shu Palace this time just to deceive King Shu into extorting money from him. Even Zhu Youxiao was jealous of his countless money.
After crying for a while, Zhu Youxiao immediately changed his tone. He was full of benevolence, righteousness and morality, which left Zhu Zhishu, the king of Shu, with extremely poor cultural foundation, speechless.
Then he talked about the country and the country passed down from his ancestors, how difficult it was for Taizu to conquer the world, and how lucky they were to enjoy the success.
Zhu Zhishu no longer dared to speak or respond. He stood there and listened quietly without daring to move at all.
After Zhu Youxiao laid the groundwork, he finally mentioned the topic and the purpose of his trip.
"The imperial court is in a difficult time. Because the treasury is empty and the government is corrupt, our Ming Dynasty is about to collapse."
"Uncle King Shu and I are also descendants of Taizu. It is because of Taizu's blessing that we, these useless descendants, are in the position we are today."
"It has been more than 200 years since the Shu vassal officially granted the vassal status during the Hongwu period. During these years, due to the existence and reasons of the imperial court, the vassal and vassal states had a transcendent status."
"Now that the government is about to collapse, the country is in crisis, and the foundation of our Zhu family is in danger of being shaken, how can the King of Shu continue to remain aloof from the world and be a fool who deceives himself and others?"
Zhu Zhishu knew that the emperor must have a purpose for coming today, and now he made it clear, but it still made him confused and difficult to deal with.
"Your Majesty, I really don't know that your Majesty is in such a difficult situation at this time and that the government is so corrupt."
"Have you forgotten, Your Majesty, that the vassal king is not allowed to interfere in state affairs, not even take a step away from the feudal state, let alone have contact with local officials and court officials, otherwise it will be regarded as treason!"
Unexpectedly, the King of Shu was not stupid and knew how to use some high-sounding reasons to shut up.
But now that Zhu Youxiao is here, he will never leave empty-handed.
"How could I not know? I know this clearly, so I came to Chengdu in person and came to the palace to talk to Uncle Shu Wang face to face."
"This year, most areas in the north are suffering from severe drought, especially Shaanxi, where almost all prefectures and counties are the hardest-hit areas."
"The common people have worked hard for a year, but in the end they have harvested nothing. They can only cry and sigh as they look at the dried rice and wheat."
"And because the national treasury is empty, it is impossible to allocate food and money for disaster relief. We can only watch helplessly as the people of the Ming Dynasty endure hunger in the cold winter."
"Fortunately, the Qin and Jin vassals were loyal to the country and took the initiative to contact me through letters. They were willing to donate their accumulated wealth to assist the court's disaster relief work. This can be considered as an insult to Taizu."
"Only now do I realize that at this critical moment of life and death, the most reliable people we can rely on are our Zhu family."
"I came here this time in the hope that the King of Shu could follow the example of the Qin and Jin vassals and help the court overcome this difficulty."
"Of course, I am not here to force Uncle Shu Wang. Everything is based on Uncle Shu Wang's own wishes. If Shu Fan does not have extra wealth, I will not be blamed for it."
Zhu Youxiao's move was to retreat instead of advance, which put Zhu Zhishu into a dilemma.
No one is willing to donate their family wealth, not to mention the emperor's words are so serious. If he really relents, he will need no more money and food.
Even though the Shu family has a great cause, it does not affect his selfishness and stingy character at all.
When he was having difficulty making a decision, Zhu Youxiao simply turned his back and pretended to drink tea in order not to create psychological pressure on him.
Zhu Zhishu seized the opportunity and quickly winked at Prince Qin and Prince Jin opposite him, eager to get useful information from them.
When the two princes saw Zhu Zhishu's eyes, they nodded slightly, indicating that there was no problem.
Zhu Zhishu was very relieved, because based on his understanding of the two kings of Qin and Jin, they were not the kind of people who were willing to donate generously to the country and the people.
Presumably, they also made a symbolic donation to give the emperor some face.
"Your Majesty, although the Shu vassal was granted the imperial title later than the Qin and Jin vassals, my loyalty to the emperor is no less than theirs. As a descendant of the Zhu family, I must fully support your majesty."
"I am willing to donate money and food to support your majesty's great cause of disaster relief at this time of crisis for the imperial court."
Zhu Youxiao said a word of good with the corner of his mouth silently, then turned his head with a smile and said with great relief:
"I was indeed right about Uncle King Shu. He is indeed as sensible and compassionate as the two princes said."
"I just don't know how much Uncle Shu Wang will donate. Can it be determined now? I urgently need this batch of money and food to be sent to the disaster area. After all, if it is delivered one day earlier, countless people may have saved their lives."