Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Chapter 10 Attack
Zhu Yunhuan's life has not changed much. These days, he basically goes to the coffin to keep vigil every day, and it seems that there is not much change from the past.

However, some people also keenly noticed some changes, including the fact that Zhu Yunhuan now stayed in front of the coffin for a longer time, unlike before when he would be taken back by people from the Eastern Palace as soon as he showed up.

This also includes the brothers Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Yunhuan, who now don't even bother to put on a show. It seems that they have not completely torn their relations apart, but there is basically no communication between them.

All of this inevitably makes people think too much, and when combined with some rumors, many people feel that a storm is about to come, and the atmosphere is a bit unpredictable.

Zhu Yunhuan didn't care about these things. He just did what he should do. Since the fight for the throne had begun, many things had to be exposed. Between him and Zhu Yunwen, there could only be one real winner.

There is no way out at all, and Zhu Yunhuan understands this better than anyone else.

If he didn't win, he would only be able to see Zhu Yunwen being canonized as the crown prince, and see historical events happening before his eyes. At that time, he would be imprisoned in Fengyang as an eyewitness, and die inexplicably.

This is already the worst outcome, so even if he breaks up with Zhu Yunwen now, there is nothing to worry about, because Zhu Yunwen has no other choice.

Although Zhu Yunhuan's commotion made Old Zhu have more thoughts, he just hadn't made up his mind yet. He just paid more attention to Zhu Yunhuan, wanting to see if this little transparent grandson would bring him more surprises.

It was almost certain that Zhu Yunwen would be made the Crown Prince, but now we have to wait and see.

Not only was Zhu Yuanzhang hesitant about appointing a crown prince, but even with the funeral of Crown Prince Zhu Biao in two months, and the prospect of a filial son beating banners and breaking pots, Zhu Yuanzhang began to waver.

Emperor Hongwu began to have more things to worry about. In addition to dealing with a large amount of tedious government affairs every day, he now had to think more carefully about the selection of the successor to the Ming Dynasty.

The civil and military officials had now noticed some momentum. After the crown prince's death, some of them had tried to ask the emperor to make Prince of Qin Zhu Chong the crown prince, which seemed to be the right approach.

As for the fact that the emperor felt that Prince of Yan Zhu Di looked like him and wanted to make him the crown prince, it never happened. Even if there was no crown prince, there were still Prince of Qin and Prince of Jin, and it was never the turn of the fourth son, Prince of Yan.

However, such a temptation was directly rejected after just one test. Without the crown prince, the court would have a crown prince's grandson.

The emperor's preference for the prince is obvious. Even if the prince fails to ascend the throne during his lifetime, he will definitely be posthumously named emperor after his death.

The second grandson of the emperor, Zhu Yunwen, is now attracting more and more attention, especially in the eyes of the civil service group. He is the best candidate for the crown prince in the eyes of many people. He has been influenced by traditional Confucian culture since childhood, has a certain cultural literacy, and agrees with many Confucian concepts.

In the eyes of many civil officials, he was even a better crown prince than the former crown prince Zhu Biao, because they knew that the former crown prince Zhu Biao only appeared to be a benevolent Confucian monarch on the surface, and he was only generous and gentle on the surface.

Zhan Hui is also about to start exerting his strength. He already has a sense of urgency at this moment, and he knows more than some people.

As the Minister of Personnel, Zhan Hui's position in the court was consolidated. He was born into a family of officials. His father, Zhan Tong, was once the academician of Chenzhou during the Yuan Dynasty and was also a Hanlin scholar of Chen Youliang. After surrendering to Zhu, Zhan Tong was promoted all the way to the Minister of Personnel.

Both father and son were ministers of the Ministry of Personnel, which is a rare and wonderful story.

Zhan Hui nodded slightly to Huang Zicheng, and felt more at ease after receiving the response.

Huang Xi and Huang Zicheng were the top three scholars in the imperial examination in the 18th year of Hongwu. They were well-educated and had a semi-teacher relationship with the emperor's second grandson. In his words, he highly praised the emperor's second grandson. He obviously did not want Zhu Yunhuan, the third grandson of the emperor, to be made the crown prince.

After the court session, all affairs were carried out in an orderly manner, and the court was in good order. Because the morning court also had rules, first meeting with foreign envoys and officials leaving Beijing, then reporting on border military affairs, and then daily political affairs.

Suddenly, Huang Zicheng came out of his class, knelt down, and said, "Your Majesty, I have a memorial to report."

Old Zhu said in the usual way, "Approved."

Huang Zicheng immediately responded, "Confucius said: When the father is alive, observe his aspirations; when the father is dead, observe his actions; if one does not change his father's way for three years, he can be said to be filial. After the death of the first crown prince, His Royal Highness the Third Grandson showed no sadness on his face and was often slack when he was keeping vigil. His Royal Highness the Second Grandson looked haggard, while His Royal Highness the Third Grandson had a rosy complexion." After Huang Zicheng took the lead, someone immediately reported, "Your Majesty, when I was keeping vigil before, I saw His Royal Highness the Third Grandson and His Royal Highness the Fourth Grandson secretly eating snacks in front of the coffin!"

Zhu's face suddenly darkened, perhaps because he thought of how Zhu Yunwen had guarded the crown prince Zhu Biao day and night after he became seriously ill, and even lost weight to the point of losing his shape. Then he thought of how Zhu Yunhuan, who had been beaten a few days ago, was still alive and kicking after being beaten.

In this comparison, Zhu Yunwen is indeed more filial!

The sudden attack from the civil officials caught many military heroes off guard. They had no intention of getting involved in the selection of the crown prince.

In the past, when there was Crown Prince Zhu Biao, most of the military merits were promoted to higher positions in the Eastern Palace. The emperor and the crown prince shared the same team, which was almost unheard of in history.

After the death of the crown prince, some military heroes began to waver in their thinking. This was because many of them had some connections with the feudal lords, and the relationship between them was very close.

The daughter of Fu Youde, Duke of Ying, was the Crown Princess of the Prince of Jin. The daughter of Xie Cheng, Marquis of Yongping, was the Crown Princess of Jin and gave birth to the Crown Prince of Jin, Zhu Jihui. The Queen of Zhu Di, Prince of Yan, was the eldest daughter of the former King of Zhongshan. The youngest daughter of Feng Sheng, Duke of Song, was the Princess of Zhou. Even Lan Yu, his daughter was the Princess of Shu.

Marrying a meritorious official is a common practice in history, and Zhu Yuanzhang is no exception. But looking at it now, it will also make things complicated.

The Huaixi nobles are a political force that cannot be ignored, and their influence in the court is now extremely strong.

Zhu Yuanzhang was famous for killing meritorious officials in history, but he didn't kill many people in the previous Hu Weiyong case. It was only after Zhu Biao's death that he began to clean up some military meritorious officials.

Zhu Yunhuan, the third grandson of the emperor, was a little unknown person, and many military heroes knew about his reputation. As the grandson of the former Prince of Kaiping, Chang Yuchun, he was the legitimate son of the crown prince. However, due to his reputation as a playboy for many years and Chang Mao's previous crimes, many people ignored him.

However, compared with the second grandson Zhu Yunwen, who came from a civil service background, the third grandson Zhu Yunhuan, who came from a military background, seemed to be more in line with the interests of military honors.

Old Zhu looked gloomy, looked at Huang Zicheng and asked, "Oh? How did you know what happened in the palace?"

Huang Zicheng withstood the pressure because of his merits in following the emperor, his sentiments as a scholar, and his political ambitions. "I have been honored by your majesty for his kindness and have been promoted to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Rites. I shall be loyal to you."

The Minister of Taichang Temple, formerly known as Fengchang, originated during the reign of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty. It is one of the five temples and is the highest administrative body in charge of rituals and music.

Old Zhu was somewhat noncommittal about this, and there was nothing wrong with Huang Zicheng's statement. But if you take it too seriously, it would be a bit beyond your authority.

The struggle for succession suddenly became fierce. Old Zhu was not sure whether Huang Zicheng's sudden attack was instructed by Zhu Yunwen, but he knew that some things could not be delayed any longer.

Zhu Yuanzhang had made up his mind long ago that the throne of the Ming Dynasty should be inherited by the eldest son. He did not want to see the tragedy of fathers and sons suspecting each other and brothers killing each other.

After hardening his heart, Old Zhu made a direct decision, "Call the Emperor's Third Grandson!"

Zhu's decision caught many people off guard. According to the usual routine, it should have been a debate among the civil and military officials. But now it suddenly became a direct summons to Zhu Yunhuan, the person involved. The emperor did not play by the rules!
Old Zhu closed his eyes slightly. He hoped that his grandson, who had brought him some surprises before, would continue to bring him some surprises.

And it didn't matter if Yunhu disappointed him. Zhu Yuanzhang believed that he was in control of the court and had the ability to control the situation before it deteriorated further.

Many people began to look forward to it, because according to the rules, court officials were not allowed to contact the princes and grandchildren of the emperor. Although Zhu Yunhuan, the third grandson of the emperor, was quite famous, he almost never appeared in the court.

Even if he attended some more solemn occasions, he would not have any contact with court officials.

Now we can take a closer look at what kind of person this grandson of the emperor is.

(End of this chapter)