The Four Major Cases

"What?" Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang instantly flew into a rage. "How dare you, Lan Yu! You actually dare to rebel!"

"Your... Your Majesty! I am wronged! I... I would absolutely never rebel!" Lan Yu was so terrified he nearly fainted on the spot. How did a simple conversation suddenly turn into him committing treason?

Just a moment ago he was pacifying Tibet, destroying the Northern Yuan royal court, and achieving the ultimate military honor of performing rites at the Khentii Mountains. How could he suddenly be rebelling?

Impossible!

This was absolutely impossible!

"Old Zhu, calm down," Qin Ning spoke up. "Saying Lan Yu rebelled was just the excuse you needed to kill him. In reality, he never truly rebelled."

"What do you mean?" Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang froze for a moment.

Did he actually falsely accuse the man?

Furthermore, what did he mean by an excuse to kill him?

Did that mean Lan Yu's rebellion was just a pretext he made up because he wanted him dead?

Could that be possible?

If Lan Yu truly pacified Tibet, destroyed the Northern Yuan royal court, and was the only general in the Ming Dynasty to achieve such ultimate military honors, how could he possibly kill such a fierce warrior?

"Have you forgotten what was said earlier, that the Jianwen Emperor was the one who ultimately ascended the throne?" Qin Ning asked in return.

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly understood.

The Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yunwen—if he truly chose him to inherit the grand lineage in the future, then he would inevitably have to clear away some obstacles for him.

Lan Yu was an absolute loyalist to the Crown Prince.

He was also the uncle of Crown Princess Chang. In the future, whether Zhu Biao, Zhu Xiongying, or even Zhu Yuntong took the throne, keeping him around would not be a problem.

But Zhu Yunwen was a child born of Lady Lü; if he ascended the throne, Lan Yu would absolutely refuse to submit!

Which meant, Lan Yu had to die.

Having figured this out, Zhu Yuanzhang gave a slight nod. "We understand."

With that, he looked at Lan Yu. "Alright, you can step back for now."

"Your Majesty, I..."

Hearing this, Lan Yu wanted to cry but had no tears. He completely failed to understand what Zhu Yuanzhang meant.

Just a moment ago, when he heard about the rebellion, true murderous intent had flashed in the Emperor's eyes.

How could he act like nothing had happened now?

"We told you to step back," Zhu Yuanzhang's voice sank.

"Yes!"

Lan Yu's body trembled. Not daring to say another word, he quickly returned to his previous spot.

"Your Majesty, earlier this Mr. Qin said that the Lan Yu case was one of the Four Major Cases of Hongwu. From the founding of our Ming Dynasty until now, the only one that can truly be called a major case should be the Pre-stamped Memorials Case that began in the ninth year of Hongwu. If the Lan Yu case is the second, I wonder what the other two major cases are..."

A man in his fifties sitting next to Li Shanchang stepped forward.

"And you are?" Qin Ning glanced at him, seemingly discerning something from his facial features.

"I am Hu Weiyong, the Left Prime Minister of the Secretariat."

"So you are Hu Weiyong."

Hearing this, Qin Ning paused for a moment, then began to laugh. "Well, that is quite a coincidence. Speaking of the Four Major Cases of Hongwu, one of them involves you."

"Involves me?" Hu Weiyong's face showed confusion.

What did he mean?

Could it be that one of these cases was investigated and handled by him, the Left Prime Minister?

Very possible!

At this thought, Hu Weiyong couldn't help but feel a bit smug.

Being able to personally oversee such a major case was clearly a sign of His Majesty's approval, and it meant he would gain another merit, perhaps even leaving his name in history. It was truly killing three birds with one stone.

"During the Hongwu era, Prime Minister Hu Weiyong's power grew day by day. He often made decisions on life, death, dismissals, and promotions without seeking the Emperor's instructions, leading to an intensified conflict between imperial power and prime ministerial power. This continued until the thirteenth year of Hongwu, when Emperor Taizu of Ming, Zhu Yuanzhang, issued an edict to execute Prime Minister Hu Weiyong and abolished the prime minister system entirely. In history, this is known as the Hu Weiyong Case."

"This case continuously escalated, implicating and leading to the deaths of over thirty thousand people, including one Duke—the Duke of Han, Li Shanchang—and twenty-one Marquises."

As soon as these words were spoken, the smile on Hu Weiyong's face instantly froze, replaced by an endless terror as his body began to tremble violently.

"Old Zhu, I don't need to say more, do I? It is currently the eleventh year of Hongwu, and I'm afraid you already have thoughts of abolishing the prime minister system in your heart," Qin Ning said.

"Ahem..."

Zhu Yuanzhang coughed lightly. "We have no such thing, do not speak nonsense."

"However, your words have reminded us. The prime minister system indeed has massive flaws. In a while, we will consider how to abolish it. If it can be properly replaced by a cabinet system without shedding blood, that would naturally be for the best. What do you think, Prime Minister Hu?"

He looked at Hu Weiyong.

A chill ran down Hu Weiyong's spine, feeling as though he were being eyed by a ferocious beast.

Having reached this position, how could he not understand many things?

It was obvious that, between the lines, His Majesty was issuing him a warning.

"I... I have no objections. Everything is up to Your Majesty!" he said, his voice trembling.

At this time, Li Shanchang also couldn't help but step forward. "Your... Your Majesty... I... I..."

Earlier, when Qin Ning discussed the Hu Weiyong case, he had mentioned Li Shanchang's name.

Learning that he would actually be executed because of this case, Li Shanchang was entirely numb.

How did he go from happily watching the drama unfold to losing his own life?

"In the twenty-third year of Hongwu, Emperor Taizu of Ming, Zhu Yuanzhang, executed the seventy-seven-year-old Li Shanchang and his entire family on charges of treason," Qin Ning said.

Zhu Yuanzhang once again flew into a rage. "How dare you, Li Shanchang! You actually dare to rebel!"

"I am wronged, Your Majesty!"

Li Shanchang knelt on the ground and shouted. "I... in the twenty-third year of Hongwu... I would already be seventy-seven years old. Why would I still rebel?"

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang frowned slightly.

Honestly, those words seemed to make some sense.

He thought of Lan Yu. Could it be that this old fellow was just like Lan Yu, and the so-called treason was merely an excuse he used to kill him?

"Chongba!"

Empress Ma finally could not sit still. "After my death, you actually became bloodthirsty to such an extent. Do you intend to kill all of these old brothers of yours!"

Facing Empress Ma's reprimand, Zhu Yuanzhang was left speechless and did not dare to offer any rebuttal.

The officials, however, were greatly shocked.

Just a moment ago, they were wondering why Empress Ma would allow Zhu Yuanzhang to act this way if she were still alive.

Did this mean that, by that time, Empress Ma was already gone?

"In August of the fifteenth year of Hongwu, Empress Ma passed away."

Qin Ning spoke, resolving the doubts in their hearts. "Empress Ma's death also became the final straw that broke the camel's back for Zhu Yuanzhang, unlocking the shackles on his bloodthirstiness."

Every single one of the officials drew in a sharp breath of cold air.

Coupled with the major cases Qin Ning had just mentioned, they could already imagine just how tyrannical Zhu Yuanzhang would become in the future.

"Old Zhu, this is where you are wrong."

Li Shimin spoke up. "Compared to your bloodthirstiness, after my Guanyinbi passed away, I not only personally raised Sizi but also built a tall tower to gaze upon the Zhao Mausoleum, and planted ginkgo trees to entrust my grief."

"However, those things will not happen anymore. Now, the history of my Great Tang has been changed, and Guanyinbi has also received treatment with Mr. Qin's help."