Chapter 165

Zhu Gang, standing aside, heard Su Qiao's words and immediately began to cough violently.

"Bold! Cough... cough! This is a matter of our Zhu family; everything depends on Father Emperor's holy judgment. You speak so disrespectfully—do you have even a shred of intent to remonstrate?"

Hearing Zhu Gang's words,

a bitter smile inevitably appeared on Su Qiao's face.

"Your Highness the Prince of Jin, you have already paid so much; must you still speak like this?"

The moment the words fell,

Zhu Gang's already pale complexion turned even whiter.

"You... what nonsense are you spouting?!"

Su Qiao slowly rose to his feet, looking at Zhu Gang and saying,

"If the throne were passed to the Prince of Yan."

"Your Highness, why must you resort to such means to protect your family?"

Hearing this,

Zhu Yuanzhang's brows inevitably knitted tightly as he stared at Su Qiao and asked,

"Su Qiao, what exactly do you mean by these words?"

Zhu Gang looked at Zhu Yuanzhang excitedly and said,

"Father, you can no longer listen to this person's nonsense."

Zhu Yuanzhang ignored Zhu Gang and instead stared fixedly at Su Qiao, asking,

"I let him speak; why are you in such a hurry?!"

"Speak! Speak it out, and I will leave you an intact corpse!"

Zhu Yuanzhang roared at Su Qiao before him, his face nearly grotesque.

Hearing the two words "intact corpse,"

an unusual light directly flashed in Su Qiao's eyes.

"It is very simple."

"Because Your Highness the Prince of Jin knows that he himself cannot ascend the great throne; he can only serve as a minister to assist the ruler!"

The moment Su Qiao spoke these words, cold sweat immediately seeped from Zhu Gang's back.

Like Zhu Yuanzhang's five legitimate sons, Zhu Gang's pride was carved into his bones.

Moreover, he was almost the most proud of Old Zhu's sons.

Supporting this pride was, naturally, corresponding strength.

Since the various princes took up their fiefs in the eleventh year of Hongwu, the entire Nine Garrisons were actually not under Zhu Di's command of the border armies.

During these more than ten years, the Regional Commander of the Great Ming's northern border armies was actually Zhu Gang; precisely because Zhu Gang was the Regional Commander, Zhu Di became the "vanguard" who personally led troops into battle.

As for Discuss military merit, Zhu Gang was not inferior to Zhu Di!

But Zhu Gang also had a fatal flaw.

That was a lack of scheming depth!

Zhu Gang knew that on the battlefield, he might be able to hold his own independently.

But in the court, he was absolutely no match for his fourth younger brother!

Therefore, from the very beginning, Zhu Gang became a natural member of the Crown Prince faction, becoming a chess piece Zhu Yuanzhang used to restrain the various princes.

Even Zhu Gang's personality might have been deliberately cultivated by Zhu Yuanzhang since childhood.

In other words, perhaps Zhu Gang was exactly the kind of person Zhu Yuanzhang had hoped Zhu Di would become in the future.

But Zhu Di did not become Zhu Gang; thus, history recorded that line: "The Taizu hated him."

Su Qiao stood before the crowd and took a deep breath.

"All of Your Majesty's arrangements have no faults, but Your Majesty miscalculated only one move!"

"Crown Prince Yiwen has passed away!"

"Your Majesty treated the Prince of Jin as a chess piece to restrain the various princes, but did Your Majesty ever consider that the Prince of Jin is not a chess piece, but a living, breathing person!?"

"This person himself knows how to seek advantage and avoid harm!"

"The current Your Majesty still wishes to treat the Prince of Jin as a chess piece to restrain the various princes; has Your Majesty considered the Prince of Jin's situation?!"

Hearing Su Qiao's words, Zhu Yuanzhang's gaze inevitably began to circle around Zhu Gang.

At this moment, Su Qiao continued to say,

"Crown Prince Yiwen has passed away."

"Your Majesty passes the throne to the Grandson of the Crown; did Your Majesty ever consider what situation the Prince of Jin will be in?"

"When the Grandson of the Crown ascends the throne in the future, the Prince of Yan will surely rebel."

"At that time, what will await the Prince of Jin?!"

Zhu Yuanzhang questioned hoarsely,

"Can't the third son properly assist me, Zhu Yunwen?"

"Naturally he can! But if the Grandson of the Crown cannot even tolerate the Prince of Yan, can he possibly tolerate the Prince of Jin?!"

"In other words, even if the Prince of Yan wins, at that time, if the Prince of Jin is still alive, can the Prince of Yan possibly tolerate the Prince of Jin?"

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang inevitably slowly stepped back two paces.

Staring fixedly at Su Qiao, he asked,

"Then according to what you say, if I directly pass the throne to the fourth son, can the fourth son possibly tolerate the third son?!"

Su Qiao said solemnly,

"He cannot tolerate him, but it is not so urgent; the Prince of Jin is older and weak. If Your Majesty directly passes the throne to the Prince of Yan, then the Prince of Yan can simply wait a few years!"

"But if the Prince of Yan seized the throne through the Jingnan Campaign, then the Prince of Jin must die before the moment the Prince of Yan enters Jin Ling!"

These words were spoken.

Zhu Yuanzhang's face instantly turned deathly pale.

If Zhu Yuanzhang directly passed the throne to Zhu Di, then legally, Zhu Di would have no urgent necessity to eliminate the Prince of Jin.

Zhu Gang might still have a sliver of hope.

But if Zhu Di rose up in the 'Jingnan' campaign, then the Prince of Jin must die before Zhu Di ascends the throne.

Su Qiao looked at the deathly pale Zhu Yuanzhang and could not help but smile bitterly,

"Could it be that Your Majesty has not yet realized, under such circumstances, what the Prince of Jin must do to best preserve all the Imperial Princes of the Prince of Jin's Wang Fu?!"

The answer was about to emerge.

How could the Imperial Princes of the Prince of Jin's Wang Fu survive?

That was for Zhu Gang to die early.

He must die before Zhu Yuanzhang.

Just like his second brother, the Qin Wang Zhu Shuang, dying before the old Master.

To pass the title of Prince of Jin to his own sons!

With Zhu Gang dying like this,

it would undoubtedly shatter all of Zhu Yuanzhang's arrangements.

But only in this way could Zhu Gang and the various princes of the Prince of Jin's Wang Fu find true release; only in this way could the Jin branch become an ordinary feudal prince after Zhu Yuanzhang's passing, a feudal prince posing absolutely no threat to the imperial throne!

Zhu Gang was using his life to tell Zhu Yuanzhang.

That he was not a chess piece.

But a man of flesh and blood!

Zhu Yuanzhang's gaze kept turning over Zhu Gang.

His throat could not help but move, and he murmured, almost choking,

"Third son, you..."

How could Zhu Yuanzhang not know that his third son's body had only gradually deteriorated after Zhu Biao's death?

Zhu Gang looked at Zhu Yuanzhang incoherently.

But he did not utter a single word.

Only intermittent coughing remained.

This was something even Zhu Di had not expected.

Because Zhu Di knew.

That his third brother, apart from some skill on the battlefield, had never had any other thoughts.