Chapter 12

At this moment, Su Qiao grew even more excited.

"Even if the Prince of Yu Huai were still alive, Lan Yu must die!"

"Because Lan Yu can only be the battle general of the Crown Prince Yiwen!"

"If the Prince of Yu Huai were still in this world, then the Duke of Liang would be the grand uncle of the Imperial Grandson! If he were to accumulate such military merits again, how would he differ from Dong Zhuo or Huo Guang?! You must know that Dong Zhuo was the grand uncle of Emperor Xian!"

"I ask Your Majesty, can you allow our Great Ming to produce a Huo Guang, to produce a Dong Zhuo?!"

Su Qiao's voice echoed for a long time beneath the Fengtian Gate.

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang collapsed onto the dragon throne.

If Su Qiao had not spoken, Old Zhu would never have thought of it.

If Zhu Zhu Zhu Xiongying had lived to this day, Old Zhu would likely still have harbored the intent to kill Lan Yu.

The reason was none other than this.

Lan Yu was the battle general Old Zhu left for Zhu Biao.

Only Zhu Biao could control him.

If Zhu Biao was no longer here, then Lan Yu must die alongside Zhu Biao!

"If this was the case for the Prince of Yu Huai, how much more so for the Imperial Grandson of today?"

"If Your Majesty keeps Lan Yu in the court,"

"then when the Imperial Grandson ascends the throne, his first act will likely not be to reduce the power of the princes, but to summon the Prince of Yan to the capital and strip Lan Yu of his military authority!"

"The reason Your Majesty cannot pass the throne to the Imperial Grandson,"

"at its root, is that Your Majesty is advanced in years, while the Imperial Grandson is still young."

"Your Majesty no longer has enough time to build a team of his own for His Highness the Imperial Grandson!"

As soon as the words fell,

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang could not help but glance at Huang Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai standing nearby.

Then he recalled Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen's clumsy acting from just moments ago.

If not for the pre-existing "filter,"

it would have been impossible to fool Old Zhu.

It would have been even more impossible to fool his own sons!

Most importantly,

it was one thing to join forces to deceive people,

but what kind of advice were these two fellows offering?

Teaching our Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen to deceive us!

We will one day die!

When we are dead,

is our Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen going to use these same skills to deceive the people of the world?

Huang Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai

could neither stop Lan Yu

nor stop Zhu Di!

How could these two fellows compare to the team we left behind for Zhu Biao?!

13, would Your Majesty wish for our Great Ming to have a Dong Zhuo?

Thinking of this,

a sense of sorrow arose in Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang's heart.

Huang Huang Zicheng, even more agitated, looked at Su Qiao and asked sharply,

"Su Qiao! You have no proof and no evidence; on what grounds do you dare say the Prince of Yan will definitely rebel?"

Su Qiao retorted instantly,

"Because the Prince of Jin is weak; from any perspective, the Prince of Jin poses no threat whatsoever."

"Following the Prince of Jin, naturally comes the Prince of Yan!"

"If Minister Huang, Minister Qi, and His Highness the Imperial Grandson begin by reducing the Prince of Yan's power, how is that different from forcing the Prince of Yan to rebel? If the Prince of Yan is reduced, how can the Prince of Ning of the Danning Regional Military Commissioner sit idly by?"

"At that time, relying on the troops of the Prince of Ning's Duoyan Three Guards and the military talent of the Prince of Yan, I ask you two ministers, whom would you dispatch to stop them?"

"Furthermore,"

"given the insight of you two princes, and the weakness of His Highness the Imperial Grandson, they would likely not start with the Prince of Yan, but proceed from the weak to the strong!"

"Please, Your Majesty, think carefully: if the Prince of Zhou, the full brother of His Highness the Prince of Yan, is reduced, how will the Prince of Yan react?"

"If the Prince of Xiang, whom the Prince of Yan raised since childhood, is reduced, how will the Prince of Yan react?"

"I fear you two ministers would start by reducing these two princes first, to serve as a warning to the Prince of Yan, would you not?"

Huang Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai exchanged a glance.

Immediately, a cold sweat broke out over their bodies.

How did this kid see through their strategy?

Was it hearsay?

Yet Su Qiao's words showed no sign of stopping.

"Proceeding from the weak to the strong is likely the very thing Your Majesty least wishes to see!"

Huang Huang Zicheng, agitated, looked at Su Qiao and shouted,

"What nonsense are you spouting? Your Majesty, this man has gone mad, this man has gone mad!"

Before Huang Huang Zicheng could finish speaking, a sharp "crack" rang out.

With eyes red as blood, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang smashed the teacup in his hand to pieces.

The surrounding ministers immediately bowed their heads.

Even Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen stood trembling to the side, daring not to make a sound.

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang roared out, his voice nearly cracking.

"Let him speak, let him speak! If we proceed from the weak to the strong, what then?!"

Su Qiao declared loudly,

"Reporting to Your Majesty! The Prince of Xiang and the Prince of Zhou are of similar age to the Crown Prince!"

"As imperial kinsmen who grew up alongside the Crown Prince since childhood, how could these two princes endure such great humiliation?"

"Furthermore, this subject has heard that His Highness the Prince of Xiang possesses great talent and a fierce, unyielding nature; if the Crown Prince orders him escorted from Hunan to the capital, how will the Prince of Xiang react?"

"No one knows a son better than his father; how could Your Majesty not know this?!"

It was not until this moment that Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yunwen could no longer restrain himself.

Pointing a finger at Su Qiao's nose, he shouted sternly,

"Even if I were to reduce the power of the princes, how can you assert that I would definitely chain and escort my Twelfth Uncle to the capital? Would I ever commit the act of humiliating my imperial uncles?"

Su Qiao declared loudly,

"Because Your Highness has been steeped in the books of the Sages since childhood!"

"Because Lord Huang and Lord Qi have been steeped in the books of the Sages!"

"Therefore, Your Highness must certainly insist on having a just cause for any action!"

"If the Prince of Xiang is stripped of his title without guilt, how can Your Highness the Crown Prince demonstrate a just cause?!"

"Therefore, this subject asserts: if the reduction of the princes proceeds, Their Highnesses the Prince of Xiang and the Prince of Zhou will inevitably be chained and escorted to the capital in Embroidered Uniform Guard prison carts!"

"Otherwise, Your Highness would lack a just cause and would tarnish your own reputation for posterity!"

Upon hearing this, even Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang, whose temper was usually as malleable as clay, could no longer hold back; he roared fiercely at Su Qiao,

"Enough!"

"Guards!"

The words had barely left his lips.

Two squads of the Embroidered Uniform Guard rushed forward in an instant.

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang pointed rigidly at Su Qiao and commanded,

"Take this man, take this man to the Imperial Prison! To the Imperial Prison!"

"Yes!"

After remaining silent for a long while, Commander Commander Jiang Huang, the Regional Military Commissioner of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, asked,