Chapter Fifteen: Lord of the Realm, Sovereign of the World
Prince Jin Zhu Gang clenched his hand hidden inside his sleeve, gripping it over and over. If it weren’t for the fact that engaging with Fourth Brother in a fight wouldn’t gain him any advantage, he would have already launched an attack on that despicable man!
He wanted to force that wretch to shut up with sheer dominance.
“Fourth Brother, don’t get cocky! You only escaped that day because you were sick. Otherwise, with your kind of behavior, Father would have beaten you until you couldn’t get out of bed!”
Unable to endure any longer, Prince Jin Zhu Gang fired back.
“Heh heh heh, some people shouldn’t be making assumptions here. If it didn’t happen, it simply didn’t happen. The fact is, someone got beaten, and I didn’t get a single thing out of it!” Zhu Di wore a smug grin.
As he spoke, he suddenly slapped Zhu Gang on the buttocks.
Among those who had been beaten, Zhu Gang had received the fewest lashes on his shoe soles, but when Zhu Yuanzhang had struck, he had truly held nothing back. The pain was still raw.
When Zhu Di’s slap landed, Zhu Gang immediately howled loudly.
“Fourth Brother, you wretch! I’ll beat you to death!”
He lunged at Zhu Di, but Zhu Di wasn’t about to stand there still.
After the slap, he immediately took off running, not giving Zhu Gang a chance to retaliate.
“Heh heh heh, come and catch me if you can!” he taunted over his shoulder while running.
Zhu Gang gritted his teeth through the pain and chased after Zhu Di for a while but couldn’t catch up.
He soon realized that the wretched Fourth Brother was deliberately provoking him to run because his own backside hurt. So he stopped.
“Fourth Brother, don’t be so smug. Next time Father beats you, you better behave!”
Zhu Gang adjusted a strand of hair messed up from the chase and straightened his slightly crooked clothes, regaining the dignified bearing of a young nobleman.
He looked at Zhu Di, who was now invoking their father.
“Father wouldn’t beat me! I didn’t do anything wrong; why would Father beat me? Third Brother, if you got beaten, then so be it. Why drag me into this? Since when have you been so sore about losing?”
Hearing this, Zhu Gang’s mouth twitched involuntarily. It was as if he had truly been punished for some mistake.
From yesterday until now, he had been constantly mulling over when he might have mistreated a servant, but he still hadn’t figured it out.
Zhu Gang knew that since he got punished and Fourth Brother didn’t, there was no point arguing now.
So he composed himself and walked back leisurely, refusing to quibble with Fourth Brother.
He secretly resolved that the next time Fourth Brother got beaten, he would mock him twice as much.
He simply couldn’t stand that smug attitude of his.
“Don’t go, Third Brother. Let’s talk more about how Father beat you...” Zhu Di called from afar, trying to provoke Zhu Gang into chasing him again.
But Zhu Gang wasn’t falling for it.
This made Zhu Di regretful—seeing Third Brother get beaten by Father was such a rare sight.
He hadn’t had his fill yet!
Watching Third Brother walk away, Zhu Di began the thirty-first mental reckoning of whether he had done anything wrong recently.
The final answer was still no.
Zhu Di decided that for the foreseeable future, he would behave obediently, tuck his tail, and avoid making any mistakes.
He would not let Father beat him.
Besides, he knew Father’s temper well. Often when Father’s anger flared and the brothers got punished, everyone shared the blame.
But generally, once Father had beaten someone, his anger subsided.
Those not present at the time would not be punished later.
Thus, Zhu Di was reassured.
Third Brother wanting to see him get beaten by Father? Not a chance!
He strode away, humming cheerfully.
His mood was better than when he had snuck out of the palace secretly to gamble a few rounds with his grand-nephew Li Jinglong!
Zhu Gang and Zhu Di were brothers close in age, natural rivals who loved to spar and mutually disdain each other.
...
“Your Majesty, I truly did not know that Yang Xian ordered Liao Yongzhong to cause the boatwreck that drowned Prince Xiao Ming. Had I known, I would have stopped it.
Even if I sincerely wished Your Majesty to inherit the Yuan dynasty’s legitimacy, once Your Majesty made up your mind, I would never have interfered forcibly—let alone using such crude, despicable methods.
Moreover, though Yang Xian and I bear the title of master and disciple, we no longer have that relationship in fact.
Even if I had given some orders, Yang Xian would not have listened,” Liu Bowen knelt in the Hall of Martial Excellence, earnestly explaining the circumstances of Prince Xiao Ming’s drowning.
He was a clever man. Though he had received no prior hints, when the emperor summoned him and showed him the three torn letters, he understood much.
It was clear that Hu Weiyong used those three torn letters as a trump card to deal a fatal blow to him.
But those letters alone could not achieve that.
There had to be sufficient deadly groundwork laid before.
The only matter involving Liao Yongzhong that could be forcibly connected to him was the forbidden issue of Prince Xiao Ming’s death.
This matter had to be clearly explained to the emperor, or it would indeed be fatal.
“Rise, Mr. Liu. We know this is not your doing.
Otherwise, we would not have summoned you to inquire about these letters face to face.”
Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand again, signaling Liu Bowen to get up.
Liu Bowen looked surprised—not at the emperor’s words, but at the attitude he displayed regarding this matter.
He knew that the death of Prince Xiao Ming was a thorn in Zhu Yuanzhang’s heart, a sensitive spot that could explode if touched.
Otherwise, Hu Weiyong would not have used it against him.
But the current outcome—that he was still alive—meant this thorn was not as deeply embedded as he and others had thought.
This was different from the information he had received earlier!
“Even if it was you, Mr. Liu, who ordered Yang Xian, or even if it were true, I would not trouble you.
Though I feel reluctant, I cannot deny that inheriting the legacy of the Yuan Mongols is indeed better than inheriting the Song dynasty’s legacy.
The Song dynasty was illegitimate from its founding and had incomplete territory.
By the Southern Song, it was confined to a small corner, having lost the central plains including Kaifeng.
The north was occupied by foreign tribes for too long; from when the emperor ceded the sixteen prefectures of Youyun to when I reclaimed them, nearly 455 years had passed.
From the Jingkang humiliation to when I expelled the barbarians and restored China, nearly 250 years had elapsed.
The north and south have been divided for so long; reuniting them is no easy matter.
The Han people speaking the language of the Hu while cursing Han on the city walls—I have witnessed this.
The north-south division is severe; if I were to inherit only the half-territory Song legacy and reject the Yuan, the rift would only deepen.
Moreover, if I inherit the Song but not the Yuan, it would mean a century-long break in Chinese history.
It would mean our China was destroyed for a hundred years.
Such a notion bears enormous consequences.
Prince Xiao Ming’s death has greatly affected my reputation, making me bear an unjust blame.
I know this matter will be a stain I can never wash away in my lifetime.
Even after hundreds or thousands of years, people will still seize on this to curse me, and I accept that.
I even believe it was better that Prince Xiao Ming died than lived.
To bear the nation’s disgrace is to be the master of the state.
To bear the nation’s misfortune is to be the king of the world.
Since I stand in this position, as master of the state and king of the world, there are things I must bear!”
Upon hearing these words, Liu Bowen was deeply moved.
No wonder Hu Weiyong’s attempt to stir the emperor with the matter of Prince Xiao Ming failed—His Majesty had long since come to terms with it!
His Majesty had considered things so profoundly, stood at such a height!
Liu Bowen rose again, full of reverence, bowing deeply.
“Your Majesty’s heart embraces the world and encompasses the four seas. This is truly a blessing for my China and for all its people!”
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Liu Bowen, who in over a decade had never knelt before him with such sincerity, and a faint, barely perceptible smile appeared on his face.
In truth, in his previous life until death, Zhu Yuanzhang could only grudgingly accept inheriting the Yuan legacy due to Prince Xiao Ming’s death, never fully at peace.
True peace came during the fifteen years he lived in modern times, seeing the unification of north and south firsthand.
Though he still heard terms like Southerners and Northerners, these were merely geographic distinctions.
They no longer carried the deep hostility between north and south as before.
He saw the appraisal of "no one better than Zhu Yuanzhang to bring order to the realm."
He witnessed the high regard for himself and Fourth Brother in bridging north and south.
He heard modern people proudly proclaim, “Five thousand years of Chinese civilization!”
Among the four great ancient civilizations, only China has maintained unbroken continuity to this day.
Though it has endured many hardships and darkest moments, there have always been righteous and heroic souls who step forward, one after another, rising like the phoenix from the ashes, rebuilding China and soaring to new heights!
At that moment, he was at peace.
The thorn so deeply embedded in his heart for years finally dissolved completely.
Compared to this, what harm could enduring some slander do?
Accepting the legacy of the Yuan Mongols, who caused his family to starve and perish—so what?!
“Mr. Liu, rise.”
Zhu Yuanzhang helped Liu Bowen up.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Liu Bowen was somewhat unaccustomed to such honorable treatment from the emperor.
“Mr. Liu, from now on, do not call me Your Majesty. Call me ‘Superior.’”
Superior?
Liu Bowen’s heart trembled.
The title ‘Superior’ was not given lightly; only a select few who had long followed the emperor, who had achieved great merits and were regarded as close confidants, could address him thus.
He had served the emperor for over a decade but had never called him Superior, nor had the emperor mentioned it.
Today, the emperor specifically brought it up.
Liu Bowen was momentarily stunned and looked up to see Zhu Yuanzhang’s serious face.
“Superior.”
Liu Bowen said the word, his eyes moistening.
He had thought the bond between ruler and minister would grow more distant, the divide deeper, but never expected today’s sudden turn to wipe it all away!
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled.
Then he looked at Liu Bowen and said, “Mr. Liu, tell me, why are there so many corrupt officials in our Ming? So many who once followed me faithfully have turned so quickly?”
Liu Bowen’s heart tightened; the earlier feeling of warmth faded somewhat, replaced by vigilance.
Was the emperor about to set him up again, to make him take the blame?
He wasn’t paranoid—he had been trapped by the emperor far too many times over the years!