Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Chapter 117 Hunting Time
Old Zhu and Zhu Yunhuan no longer care about what people in the court and the country are saying, because many things have been decided and will only be executed according to their script.

Even if some people wanted to deviate from the script, Lao Zhu and Zhu Yunhuan would not allow these things to happen.

Those that need to be reviewed should be reviewed, and those who need to be redressed should be redressed. Naturally, there are also those who want to disrupt the situation.

After returning to the East Palace, Zhu Yunxun was in a good mood. "Auntie, if you get married, what will happen to the East Palace?"

Princess Anqing said directly, "Your elder sister and second sister have made some progress. They can be the masters of the Eastern Palace. Even if your elder sister marries next year, you will be in a difficult situation by then."

Zhu Yourong said, "Auntie, I don't think it's a big deal. Youling and I are married, and Yunxun is also getting married. By then, the Crown Princess will be in charge, so we don't need to worry about it."

She hasn't even gotten married yet, but she's already started to become disloyal, which makes Zhu Yunhuan speechless.

Princess Anqing glanced at Zhu Yunhuan and said, "Your aunt came to complain, saying that you made your uncle do things that offended others."

"Why does my uncle want such a good reputation?" Zhu Yunhuan said with a smile, "My uncle is talented, but it is impossible for him to become a Confucian master. Let's not talk about whether his knowledge has reached that level, even if those scholars can recognize him?"

Princess Anqing said, "You can't always do things that offend people. The rumors outside are so confusing that it makes me feel uneasy."

"In these two days, we will be able to settle down." Zhu Yunhuan stretched and said, "My good days are coming to an end. I have been keeping a low profile for a year, and it is time for me to do something."

Zhu Yourong and Zhu Youling were a little confused as they didn't know much.

However, they would not worry about Zhu Yunhuan's affairs. As long as the position of the Crown Prince was stable, there would be nothing to worry about.

Princess Anqing recalled something and said, "Someone from Tianjie Temple sent a message saying that the monks were chanting sutras and praying for blessings."

Crown Prince Zhu Biao died of illness on April 25th of the lunar calendar, which means it was his death anniversary.

It’s been almost two years!

Although Lao Zhu had experience as a monk before, he was not particularly enthusiastic about religion. Instead, he had many restrictions on it.

Because he knew that many religions did not engage in production and would hoard large amounts of land, etc.

Therefore, in the policy formulated by Zhu Yuanzhang, the number of temples in each state and prefecture was limited, and the number of monks was also limited. Only those who were granted ordination certificates by the imperial court could be considered proper monks.

Tianjie Temple is one of Lao Zhu’s favorite Buddhist temples.

Renovation began in the first year of the Hongwu reign. After a fire a few years ago, Zhu Yuanzhang used money from the treasury to help rebuild Tianjie Temple, and named it "Tianjie Shanshi Temple".

At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the monk Huitan to manage Buddhism, and appointed officials such as the commander-in-chief, deputy commander-in-chief, praiser of Buddhism, and secretary-general to be in charge of the appointment and removal of abbots of famous mountains and temples across the country.

As for Taoism, it is naturally the Tianshi Mansion, which is in charge of all Taoist affairs.

The Kong family of Yanshenggong has been passed down from generation to generation, and the Zhang family of Tianshifu is actually the same.

Zhu Yunhuan was stunned for a moment. In fact, last year, Prince of Yan Zhu Di sent Monk Daoyan back to Yingtian Prefecture. It was just that Zhu Yunhuan was busy with other things and didn't think about it at all.

It is estimated that Monk Daoyan has spent the past year in Tianjie Temple reciting scriptures and chanting Buddha's name, doing what a monk should do.

But now that he knows about this matter, Zhu Yunhuan plans to take some time to see what kind of person this monk Daoyan is.

Whether it is useful or not is one thing, curiosity and so on are another.

It’s funny to think about it, that Zhu Yunhuan ignored Monk Daoyan, who played an extremely important role in the Jingnan Campaign, for more than a year.

Perhaps it was because he had no sense of urgency, and did not think that such a monk could cause any unrest in the world under the current circumstances.

There are many other big and small things to do, so it is understandable that he can't take care of Yao Guangxiao.

A new day began, and Zhu Yunhuan went to Wenhua Hall again.

Zhu Zhong was the first to report, saying, "Your Highness, yesterday the Minister of Personnel and his men gathered at Zuixian Tower after leaving the yamen."

Some time ago, Zhu Yuanzhang, as the country was at peace and he wanted to enjoy life with the people, ordered the Ministry of Works to build ten towers outside the Jiangdong gates and ordered the people to set up taverns between them to receive guests from all over the world.

Zuixianlou is one of them, and it is still under expansion with plans to add five more rooms.

Zhu Yuanzhang now has confidence, because the Ming Dynasty seems to be thriving and there is no longer a need to ban alcohol as it did when it was conquering the world.

Zhu Yunhuan asked, "What did you hear?" Zhu Zhong replied, "The Minister of Personnel and others talked about the review of the imperial examination, and it seems that they presented the previously recorded list of scholars intact."

Zhu Yunhu was not angry at all for Zhu Zhong's report. In fact, he had already guessed that the civil servants would do this.

Courage, those people are not lacking in courage, and they also intend to show the emperor their tough attitude, as well as their fairness, morality, and integrity.

Since this is the case, Zhu Yunhuan did not intend to be polite, "Then you should prepare something. You will probably have to go to court in two days. There is no need to hide this time. It just so happens that the Northern Pacification Office is also in need of a target to establish its authority."

Zhu Zhong immediately said excitedly, "I obey your order!"

He was transferred to the Northern Pacification Office and became the Crown Prince's true confidant. All of this made Zhu Zhong excited and expectant.

But in the past year, especially in recent times, he has actually been relatively low-key, and sometimes even gives people a sense of cowardice.

The Imperial Guards, who once terrified civil and military officials, can no longer intimidate others, and have even become a tool for improving reputation in the eyes of some people. How do spies like Zhu Zhong feel about this?
Now, the Northern Pacification Division also needs to show their fangs and let those self-righteous civil and military officials know that the Imperial Guards can still handle major cases!
Zhu Zhong was eager to try, hoping that this time he could establish his authority and let everyone see how powerful the Northern Pacification Office was.

Zhu Yunhuan could not wait any longer. After more than a year of planning, he could finally start closing the net.

Come to think of it, there is indeed some excitement and anticipation, because this is one of the events that can change the Ming Dynasty, and it is also an extremely important matter.

Time flies, and in just a few days, it is the day for Zhan Hui and others to respond to the verification.

Zhu Yunhuan got up early, dressed and was ready to go to court.

After the morning court officially began and some matters were reported, Zhu Yunhuan asked, "Minister of Personnel, how is the review of the imperial examination going now?"

Zhan Hui immediately stepped forward and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, Your Highness, after reviewing, we have concluded that many northern scholars are not good at writing and have violated taboos. Judging from the level of the scholars, the scholars who were admitted were all admitted based on their talents and there is no problem."

Many people were shocked by this, and many people were also shocked. It seemed that Zhan Hui and others really intended to fight the imperial power to the end!

Zhu Yunhuan narrowed his eyes and asked, "Oh? Grandfather Huang stipulated that 40% of the northern scholars should be admitted. Is this impossible?"

Zhan Hui said solemnly, "Your Highness, I think the selection of talents should be based on talent and learning!"

Zhu Yunhuan glanced at Zhan Hui, then knelt down in front of Old Zhu, "Your Majesty, I request your permission to execute Zhan Hui, Zhao Mian, Liu Sanwu and other treacherous thieves with ulterior motives!"

As soon as Zhu Yunhuan finished speaking, Zhan Hui and the other parties involved immediately knelt down, looking a little uneasy, but not seeming particularly scared.

Old Zhu asked, "Why did the prince say that? The two ministers are indeed pillars of the court, and Liu Sanwu is also a great scholar with a great reputation in the scholar community. If he has not committed a serious crime, how can he be executed so easily?"

"Reporting to Grandfather." Zhu Yunhuan said, "It has been verified that Zhao Mian solicited bribes, and there are witnesses and evidence!"

Ok?
In an instant, countless people were dumbfounded. There had been impeachments against Zhao Mian for corruption and bribery before, and the result was that everyone thought it was slander, which also caused the Crown Prince's confidant to be punished.

Zhao Mian's face turned pale instantly. He knew clearly whether he had accepted bribes or not, and he thought that he had passed that hurdle.

But now that it has been brought up, and it should have been verified, my fate will be dire.

Zhan Hui was also dumbfounded. He didn't know whether Zhao Mian had accepted bribes. But he was sure that if Zhao Mian, the chief examiner, was executed for taking bribes, this imperial examination would be difficult to convince the public.

He had previously vowed to guarantee Zhao Mian and others and insisted on not recruiting more northern scholars, but in an instant he became part of the same gang with Zhao Mian!

What a vicious Crown Prince! Zhao Mian was obviously bribed for other things, but he had to bring it up at this time.

Zhao Mian's crotch is covered in yellow mud, and it's impossible to wash it off no matter how hard you try!
Zhu Yunhuan continued, "The six ministers of the court are all from the south, and these people still think it's not enough! This time they are suppressing the northern scholars and intend to separate the north and the south. It's really vicious!"

Zhu Yunhuan glanced at Liu Sanwu and said, "This man is a former Yuan Dynasty official. He also spoke up for Hu Weiyong and Li Shanchang. I request a thorough investigation to see if he has any connections with the Yuan Dynasty!"

Liu Sanwu was instantly on the verge of collapse. He had worked for the Yuan Dynasty before and had indeed redressed the injustice done for Hu Weiyong and others, whose crimes included colluding with the Yuan Dynasty and colluding with the Japanese!
This Crown Prince has to mix several things together. How can anyone defend himself?
Old Zhu turned pale and looked at Zhu Yunhuan and said, "Grandson, do you know what you are talking about?"

"Sun Chen knows!" Zhu Yunhuan immediately responded loudly, "I also ask Grandfather to investigate thoroughly. People with such evil intentions must not be let off lightly!"

Zhao Mian immediately burst into tears and shouted, "Your Majesty, I am innocent!"

Zhu Yunhuan got up and kicked Zhao Mian over. "You are innocent? Do you want to have the confession and witnesses delivered to you? Four thousand seven hundred taels of silver, a copy of Mi Fu's calligraphy and painting, countless pearls, and countless pens, inks, papers, and inkstones! You are not only a thief, you also took a lot of gold and silver items!"

Zhao Mian quickly got up and shouted, "Your Majesty, I presided over this imperial examination and there was no fraud!"

There was no cheating in the imperial examination, but corruption and abuse of power were also true! It's not that easy to get away with it!
(End of this chapter)