After a long while, Zhu Yuanzhang wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and finally regained his usual demeanor.
It was then that he remembered he should return to express his profound gratitude to Wu Tao…
So, he withdrew and quietly walked back to the outside of Fengfeng Palace.
However, as soon as he reached the door, Zhu Yuanzhang was immediately surrounded. Led by his son Zhu Biao, along with various relatives like imperial uncles and nephews, they peppered him with questions.
But, Zhu Yuanzhang did not see Wu Tao among the crowd.
He couldn't help but be surprised and busied himself asking about Wu Tao's whereabouts.
Upon hearing their replies, Zhu Yuanzhang learned that after Wu Tao wrote a prescription for maintaining health, he had already taken his leave and departed gracefully, not staying for even another moment.
Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang stood stunned on the spot, speechless for a long time.
However, Zhu Yuanzhang had already made up his mind that once the Empress recovered, he and his wife would surely bestow titles and promotions upon Wu Tao to properly repay his life-saving grace.
Although Empress Ma had awakened, the storm she had caused continued to spread.
Zhu Yuanzhang had long been fed up with these arrogant, insatiably greedy founding nobles.
After this incident, he had already conceived murderous intent.
And a sharp blade he had long prepared was now due to be used.
Time rewound twenty years.
At the end of the Yuan Dynasty.
Zhu Yuanzhang, along with his brothers, fought against Chen Youliang and Zhang Shicheng successively.
In the thirtieth year of Emperor Shun of Yuan, Zhu Yuanzhang fought a decisive battle with Chen Youliang in Jinling, killing Chen Youliang at Poyang Lake.
Afterward, Zhu Yuanzhang led his great army to sweep through Zhang Shicheng's territories in Suzhou and Hangzhou.
In the thirty-fifth year of Emperor Shun of Yuan, Zhu Yuanzhang launched a northern expedition and achieved a great victory, capturing Dadu of Yuan, taking captive the young prince, the empress dowager, and over ten thousand princes and nobles.
He presented the captives to the imperial ancestral temple, executed the Yuan emperor, and drove out the Mongols, achieving the great unification of the Han people.
In the blink of an eye, another year passed.
The world, after more than a decade of chaos, was finally pacified.
…
In the same year, that is, the first year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang established the Great Ming Empire in Nanjing.
The reason for choosing "Ming" as the national name was because Zhu Yuanzhang believed that upon establishing the empire, the national name should signify grandeur and imperial favor, hence "Da Ming" (Great Ming), meaning "received from Heaven."
It also signified inheritance from the titles of the Great and Small Ming Kings held by Han Shantong and Han Lin'er, also known as Imperial Ming, or the Ming Dynasty.
Also in the same year, Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne and became emperor, performing sacrifices to Heaven at Mount Tai, and was known as "Emperor Taizu of Ming."
A group of civil and military officials, such as Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Li Shanchang, Li Wenzhong, Feng Sheng, Deng Yu, Tang He, Tang Shengzong, Lu Zhongheng, Zhou Dexing, Hua Yunlong, Gu Shi, Geng Bingwen, Chen De, Guo Xing, Wang Zhi, Zheng Yuchun, Fei Ju, Wu Liang, Wu Zhen, Zhao Yong, Liao Yongzhong, Yu Tongyuan, Hua Gao, Yang Jing, Kang Maocai, Zhu Liangzu, Fu Youde, Hu Mei, Han Zheng, Huang Bin, Cao Liangchen, Mei Sizhu, Lu Ju, Xue Xian, and Mu Ying, the thirty-six meritorious officials.
They were also bestowed titles and high positions, holding immense power.
…
Zhu Yuanzhang followed the Song dynasty's system, and the imperial examinations still used the Four Books and Five Classics. Besides adopting a mixed approach of civil and military officials to balance the civil officials, the status of civil officials was still placed above that of military officials.
Scholars universally praised him, believing him to be a divinely appointed wise ruler.
…
Time flowed like water, years passed like a shuttle.
In the blink of an eye, it was the later period of the Hongwu era.
Time is the most terrible blade, killing invisibly, and no one can escape it.
As the civil and military officials who helped Zhu Yuanzhang conquer the world began to disappear, some died, some retired, and some became legends.
Some were even gradually forgotten.
Of the thirty-six founding dukes, who were established in imitation of Li Shimin, the Emperor Taizong of Tang, only eighteen remained in high office in the court.
…
Beep, beep, beep!
On the Yangtze River, a wooden ship carried a group of tourists downstream, heading straight for the capital.
"Since ancient times, scholars and poets have spoken of the beauty of Jiangnan; now it seems truly indescribable."
On the deck, a man in a long-sleeved brocade robe leaned against the railing, gazing out, and couldn't help but sigh.
This man had regular features, thick lips, and was young, possessing a handsome and talented appearance.
'I am a disciple of Liu Bowen, and I must assist a wise ruler and accomplish great deeds for the people of the world!'
Yang Xian gripped the railing, his heart filled with surging emotions.
His teacher, Liu Bowen, was a leader in the Hanlin Academy and the Censorate, the head of the upright officials.
Unfortunately, his teacher had too many political enemies in the court, and under their attacks, his position plummeted, eventually leading to his dismissal and loss of office.
Today, as he entered the capital, he intended to help his teacher, Liu Bowen, defeat his teacher's enemies.
Twenty years later.
Yang Xian, clad in a pure azure official robe, entered gracefully. Those he encountered knew they had met a great dignitary and respectfully made way for him.
The Great Ming had a system: first-rank officials wore pure red, second-rank pure azure, third-rank blue, fifth-rank bright yellow, sixth and seventh-rank brown, and eighth and ninth-rank green.
Seeing that he, though only middle-aged, had already achieved the rank of a second-rank official, his career was undoubtedly prosperous, and he was favored by the emperor.
"Zhuqing Ju!"
The plaque on the door, simple yet grand, was accompanied by a private seal, which read "Feng Hua Sheng Shi."
This was the personal imperial jade seal of the current emperor.
Few people knew that this seemingly ordinary blue bamboo house was once the abode of the renowned strategist Liu Bowen, and that the plaque was an imperial gift, personally inscribed by the current emperor!
Yang Xian stepped forward and knocked on the door.
After a long while, someone opened the door. It was a middle-aged man who looked about the same age as him.
However, Yang Xian knew that this man was once the emperor's right-hand man, the head of the censors and judiciary among the civil officials, who later retired to civilian life!
"So it's senior brother you."
Liu An, upon seeing Yang Xian, couldn't help but smile slightly. He opened the gate and said, "Please come in!"
Yang Xian nodded slightly and stepped inside.
Liu An walked ahead, and Yang Xian followed behind, passing through the hall and arriving outside a blue bamboo chamber.
"Cough, cough!"
Before they even got close, a series of rapid coughs could be heard.
"Greetings, Teacher!"
Yang Xian, hearing this, immediately bowed respectfully outside the door.
"Come in!"
From within the chamber, Liu Bowen's voice emerged, tinged with weakness and fatigue.
Yang Xian, with sharp eyes, saw Liu Bowen holding a white handkerchief that was stained with a smear of blood.
Seeing this, his pupils contracted, and he recalled the scene from ten years ago.
Ever since his teacher fell from the back of that spirited horse, his health had not been good.
And a significant portion of the officials, upon hearing this news, considered it a great piece of good fortune.
After all, the Censorate and the Judiciary departments could investigate all officials. Although they wielded immense power, they were bound to incur resentment.
As the highest officials of these two departments, Liu Bowen was destined to be a target, even if he were lying down.
Liu Bowen's face was somewhat pale, his hair and beard snow-white. Having entered his sixties, his health was deteriorating further.
Seeing his most outstanding disciple visit him, Liu Bowen smiled. He asked Liu An to bring a pillow, propped himself up, and said, "What auspicious day is it that you've suddenly come to see me?"
It turned out that as Yang Xian's official position rose, he became increasingly occupied, and had visited less frequently of late.
Upon hearing this, Yang Xian became quite smug.
"Reporting to Teacher, your disciple has avenged you!"
"I have successfully entered the Zhongshu Sheng (Secretariat) and am now the Left Chancellor of the Zhongshu Sheng, only one character away from Left Prime Minister."
"Li Shanchang's disciple, Hu Weiyong, not only failed in his attempt to seize control of the Zhongshu Sheng but was also caught by me, and I have thoroughly crushed him."
Yang Xian spoke with increasing pride, almost to the point of wanting to dance.
"Fu Youde, Hu Mei, Han Zheng, Huang Bin, Cao Liangchen, Mei Sizhu, Lu Ju, Xue Xian, and other dukes of Zhenguo have all died at my hands."
Liu Bowen lay on the bed, his expression unchanged, listening quietly.
…
"Cough, cough..."
It was only after Yang Xian mentioned that several dukes of Zhenguo had died because of him that Liu Bowen weakly waved his hand, signaling him to stop.
Following this, Liu Bowen coughed a few more times and said with a sigh, "Huang Shan is also dead? Alas, so many old friends have withered away..."
Yang Xian understood the implication in his teacher's words and felt a sudden awkwardness.
Liu Bowen also noticed this, so he changed the subject and moved to another topic.
"Who is in charge of the court nowadays?"
Indeed, as soon as Yang Xian heard this, he cast aside his previous thoughts and replied with gritted teeth.
"Li Shanchang is still presiding over the court. He has cultivated many loyalists and confidantes within the Six Ministries, to the point where even the Emperor finds it difficult to intervene."
Liu Bowen felt no surprise that Li Shanchang still held the position of Left Prime Minister.
After the founding of the Great Ming, under Zhu Yuanzhang's grand stratagem, Liu Bowen and Li Shanchang engaged in an extremely fierce factional struggle in court.
As rivals, they had clashed for decades; who didn't understand whom?
…
"Cough, cough... Li Shanchang was forty years old back then, he must be seventy now? And he's still scheming in the political arena all day long. Ha ha, isn't he tired?"
Liu Bowen laughed heartily, mocking his old rival. However, Yang Xian could still discern the melancholy in his teacher's words.
Yang Xian stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Teacher, please rest assured. I have found Li Shanchang's weakness, and within a year, I will achieve the position of Left Prime Minister myself."
…
"Alright... We've met today, and my old bones are still here. You should go now, shouldn't you?"
Upon hearing this, Yang Xian's heart tightened. He bowed to his teacher and took his leave, "Wishing you ten thousand years of good health, Teacher. I shall depart immediately..."
After leaving Yangxin Guan, he glanced back at the dilapidated bamboo house and suddenly let out a sigh.
Now that he held a high position and considerable power, he could see many things clearly.
Although his teacher's strategies were astonishing and helped the emperor win the empire, he was also feared by the emperor and suppressed by his rivals, forcing him to retire.
Otherwise, it was truly difficult to say who would have won between his teacher and Li Shanchang back then...