The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

The Imperial Palace, inside the Kunning Palace.

Zhu Youtang had a meal with Empress Zhang, Zhu Houzhao and Zhu Xiurong. The table was very quiet.

Zhu Youtang didn't say anything, and Zhu Houzhao was also surprisingly silent.

Even Zhu Youtang would glance over at his son from time to time, perhaps because he felt that his son was a little unusual. Was he trying to be a good boy?

Finally, after finishing lunch, Zhu Xiurong ran over and pulled Zhu Youtang's sleeve as he was about to leave, saying, "Father, I want to learn something. Can you find someone to teach me?"

"Little girl..."

Zhu Houzhao muttered words of disdain.

Zhu Youtang didn't hear these words clearly, but Zhu Xiurong heard them with her sharp ears. She turned her head and glared at her brother fiercely.

Because this brother would criticize and attack her for no reason, or it could be that there was hatred between the brother and sister. It is said that there can be no father and son without hatred, and this is often the case when brothers and sisters get along with each other, always disliking each other.

Zhu Youtang smiled and said, "What do you want to learn? Have you finished learning the Book of Filial Piety? If you have learned it all, ask your mother to find some new knowledge for you to learn."

Zhu Xiurong blinked his eight-year-old eyes and said seriously, "I want to learn how to fight."

"Cough cough cough..."

Zhu Houzhao was choked by saliva and started coughing.

This tone... Why does it sound so much like me? Even Zhu Houzhao was wondering what was wrong with this sister.

"Prince, what's wrong with you?" Zhu Youtang looked at his son.

Zhu Houzhao raised his hand while coughing, and after a while he said, "Father, don't worry about me. I'm choking."

Zhu Youtang then turned to look at his daughter and said, "It's not that father doesn't allow you to learn, but what's the point of you learning those things? You are still young, you should learn something that will be beneficial to your future."

"Hehehe..." Zhu Houzhao couldn't help laughing out loud.

When Zhu Xiurong heard the laughter, she knew that her brother was laughing at her. She seemed to be very stubborn and said, "But I really want to learn, and I also want to help my father. Even if I can't learn it well, I want to learn more useful things. On the contrary, my brother... He also studies some maps and so on. I want to see it, but he says it's useless for girls to learn..."

Zhu Youtang frowned slightly, then glared at Zhu Houzhao.

Zhu Houzhao was stunned. How does this have anything to do with me?

Father, you can't be unreasonable, right? What I said is all right! It's really useless for a girl like her to learn those things. Am I wrong to tell the truth?

"Prince, Xiurong is your sister. Shouldn't you give in to her?" Zhu Youtang said.

Zhu Houzhao protested, "Father, I am telling the truth. She will not lead troops to fight in the future. She is just a girl. She always wants to draw maps with a pen. You said that the maps cannot be destroyed. The fault is hers."

Zhu Youtang said sternly, "Brothers and sisters should love each other, but you always act superior. Why are you so proud of being the elder brother? Xiurong, I understand your desire to learn, but sometimes... you have to do things within your ability. I will first ask someone from the Martial Arts Academy to explain to you and see if you can learn. If you really have talent in this area, I will find someone to teach you."

Zhu Houzhao said: "Father, this is unfair. I want to learn it every day, so why can't I?"

"You are the crown prince!" Zhu Youtang said sternly, "You must first learn the books of sages and understand the principles of the world, so that you can focus on your work! If you still don't know what is good for you, I will punish you by confining you to the East Palace for half a month and not allowing you to go anywhere else."

"I……"

Zhu Houzhao almost wanted to curse.

Why is everything my fault?
I just stopped my sister from touching my map and protested that my father asked her to learn military tactics and fighting. So this is my fault? I have such a miserable life. Who did I offend? Could it be that, as I thought before, my father wanted to pin all his hopes on my brother?

Are you planning to give up on me?

……

……

Zhu Youtang left Kunning Palace.

Zhu Xiurong was jubilant, while Zhu Houzhao was dejected.

"Your father didn't really put you under house arrest, so why do you have such an attitude? Have you tried hard to complete your homework these two days?" Empress Zhang hadn't said a word before, but now she remembered that she also wanted to teach her son a lesson.

This is to keep up with my husband.

Zhu Houzhao said: "Mother, father is not fair."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Empress Zhang said angrily, "Your father is fair and just in doing things. He just wants your sister to learn something, and you have such an attitude? No wonder your father always asks me to discipline you strictly. It seems that you really don't know how to advance or retreat."

"What have I done wrong?" Zhu Houzhao said angrily.

What made him most angry was that Zhu Xiurong, who was sitting opposite him, was still giving him a strange look, as if he was provoking him.

Empress Zhang said coldly: "Your fault is your bad attitude!"

"Attitude?" Zhu Houzhao looked embarrassed and annoyed, obviously not wanting to accept this statement.

Empress Zhang said: "Your sister doesn't have much to do usually. She is very intelligent and can learn anything very quickly."

"Me too." Zhu Houzhao said, "Is she better than me?"

"Hmph!" Zhu Xiurong turned his face away and ignored his brother.

Empress Zhang said, "She doesn't have as much to learn as you do. You will govern the country in the future, and you have so many teachers. But your sister has only a few eunuchs to teach her. Who else does she have?"

"She...she will get married in the future and will not be of any use." Zhu Houzhao's tough attitude began to waver.

Empress Zhang continued in a cold voice, "You are brother and sister, both your father's children. Why can only you study and your sister can't? Besides, it's not like you are a member of the royal family and can't afford to study, or that there is no one to teach you. Is it wrong for her to want to study?"

"I..." Zhu Houzhao was suddenly speechless.

Empress Zhang continued, "And what she wants to learn, is there any difference between what you usually want to learn? The biggest difference is that you have to learn so many skills to govern the country, while your sister only needs to learn what she wants to learn. If this is the case, and you, as a brother, are unwilling to understand, then in your father's eyes, you are just using your status as a brother and a prince to oppress your sister, nothing else."

Zhu Houzhao said, "Mother, I didn't." "You said you didn't." Empress Zhang said, "In the past year or so, have you ever been nice to your sister? Every time you come, you have a sullen face, as if someone owes you something. Whenever your father wants to give your sister something, you will be dissatisfied with this and have opinions about that. When your father is still alive, you are so mean to your sister. If in the future... do you think your father can rest assured?"

"I……"

Zhu Houzhao suddenly realized that he was right but couldn't explain himself.

I feel like I'm being manipulated.

Empress Zhang stood up and said, "It's getting late. You should return to the East Palace. At your age, you may have to help your father with court affairs in a few years. Your father has also mentioned that in the future he will let you manage government affairs in Wenhua Palace, and the ministers of the cabinet and six ministries will assist you. Even the people in the Imperial Household Department will follow you."

"Really?" Zhu Houzhao finally felt a little relieved after hearing this.

It turns out that my old father still cares about me.

Empress Zhang said, "But if you still don't make progress and can't even keep up with your studies, it's hard to say whether your father will change his mind! Xiurong, let's go."

As she spoke, Empress Zhang asked her daughter to go into the inner hall to take a nap.

"Yes, mother." Zhu Xiurong stood up and followed his old mother to the inner hall obediently.

When he left, he did not forget to look at his brother with a provocative look, which made Zhu Houzhao very angry again.

"What a little devil! How can she be so good at pretending in front of my father and mother? I am so angry!" Zhu Houzhao gnashed his teeth and beat his chest with his head. "She is so good at pretending at such a young age. What will happen to her when she grows up? Fortunately, she is just a girl, otherwise my position as the crown prince might be taken away by her! It's really... I am so angry!"

……

……

In the Qianqing Palace.

After Zhu Youtang arrived, he did not review the memorials immediately, but instead asked someone to summon Zhang Zhou into the palace.

When Zhang Zhou entered the palace and met Zhu Youtang, he saw Zhu Youtang standing in front of a large military map hanging on the wall, with a sad face and sighing.

"Your Majesty." Zhang Zhou walked over and saluted.

Zhu Youtang turned around and looked at Zhang Zhou. He finally showed some relief on his face and said, "Is Bingkuan here? Let me discuss this with you."

Zhang Zhou said, "Is there any report from the front line that makes Your Majesty worried?"

"No." Zhu Youtang said, "There is nothing happening on the front line. But I heard that Zhu Fu was harassed by the Tatars while leading his troops north. The Tatars used fire this time. I heard that they set fires everywhere, trying to use fire to hinder the soldiers of the three armies of the country from going north. Zhu Fu captured a tribe of Tatars and is leading them north. But up to now, the troops have not discovered the main force of the Tatars."

Zhang Zhou nodded and said, "That should take time."

Zhu Youtang sighed, "I am wondering what will happen to the prince in the future?"

"Your Majesty?" Zhang Zhou asked curiously, "Why do you have such an idea? Hasn't the prince made some progress in his studies? Is there anything else that makes Your Majesty worried?"

"He is still too stubborn and lacks experience in getting along with others. In his eyes, he still values ​​himself and never thinks about others." Zhu Youtang said, "For example, when I met him at noon today, Xiurong said that he wanted to learn some military knowledge, and he was mocking and sneering at the side. He showed no humility and tolerance as a brother, which made me very annoyed."

Zhang Zhou seemed to understand Zhu Youtang's philosophy of educating children.

Regardless of whether a child can really learn well, he should at least be honest and friendly. Zhu Houzhao is just the typical example of a willful and reckless person. Moreover, Zhu Houzhao was instilled with the idea that he was the most respected and that he would become the emperor of the Ming Dynasty in the future since he was a child. As a result, his eccentricity and willfulness made him lack the ability to empathize with others.

To put it bluntly, all this was caused by Zhu Youtang's poor discipline of his son.

You said that if you had more sons and had no special preference among them, the prince would have developed a sense of crisis early on. Or if you and the queen had guided your son's character better, would the current situation have occurred?
It didn't work when you should have used it, and now it's no longer effective when you try to raise it again.

Three years old look old.

Zhu Houzhao had already developed a fearless character, and it was already difficult to correct him.

Zhu Youtang said: "Although I also know that Xiurong should not be exposed to too many military things, but I think Xiurong is a very filial child. She sees that I am always worried about military matters, and she wants to share my worries."

Zhang Zhou smiled and didn't answer.

I was thinking, is this true?
From what I have seen, your daughter is also a quirky little devil. She wants to learn military affairs. Are you sure she wants to help you, and not to challenge her brother, or even to fulfill her wild ideals, or even to do something cynical?

such a pity……

Your daughter should not have existed in this world. There is no classic or historical book that can give any information about her life now or in the future. She is the product of my changes in history, and her future is completely beyond my control.

As for what she will do in the future, I have no idea and cannot give you any advice.

Zhu Youtang sighed, "But Xiurong has been writing strange things and saying strange things with pen and paper recently. I think she may be influenced by you."

Zhang Zhou said: "I don't understand."

Zhu Youtang said helplessly, "I have studied many of your teaching plans before, including those for the Martial Arts Academy and some for manufacturing. They were all books that were kept at the bottom of the box, and I have rarely read them in the past two years. But I don't know why Xiurong found them recently. I originally thought that she didn't know many words and probably didn't understand the contents of the books, but recently I found that she seemed to know... a lot more than I thought."

Zhang Zhou nodded and said, "Then Her Royal Highness the Princess must be...very talented."

"Alas!" Zhu Youtang sighed, "Having talent is a good thing, but she is a girl after all. What can she learn from it in the future, and what can she do with it? I never expect her to do anything for the Ming Dynasty. I just hope that she can live a peaceful life. At the beginning... her life was also pulled back from the gates of hell."

Having said that, Zhu Youtang suddenly looked at Zhang Zhou with an emotional look on his face.

Zhang Zhou said, "Your Majesty, if you have anything to say, please speak directly."

Zhu Youtang smiled and said, "This child wants to learn how to fight. She wants to learn something that is not in line with what she was supposed to learn. I agreed to her request. I know she has talent. I didn't give her opportunities before, but she still found opportunities on her own. Now she is getting older, and soon... she will be a big girl. I want her to learn from you and take you as her teacher."

"This……"

Zhang Zhou knew that Zhu Youtang had long wanted to "entrust" all his children to him.

Because Zhu Youtang fully trusted him and felt that he could provide the best education for these princes and princesses.

But Zhang Zhou really wanted to say, do you want me to help you educate your children, or do you want me to help you pacify the grassland?
If you want them all, you'd be too greedy.

"Don't worry, it won't delay you too much." Zhu Youtang said, "This child likes to study, so you can write more things, preferably things she can't understand, and let her study first to sharpen her spirit. Then, you can teach her some more casually, and she should be satisfied by then." (End of this chapter)