Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Chapter 13 Let’s Fight
Zhu Yunhuan burned incense in front of the tablets one by one, while Old Zhu was always standing behind Zhu Yunhuan, just watching quietly and in a trance.

After burning incense in front of Chang's spirit tablet, Zhu Yunhuan knelt down again.

Old Zhu didn't even look at Zhu Yunhuan, and said slowly, "When your great-grandfather had me, he was already fifty years old. I have parents above me, three brothers and two sisters. I am the youngest in the family and the most favored."

Zhu Yunhuan did not speak, and Old Zhu continued, "At that time, our family was poor and we could not eat enough all year round. At that time, your great uncle also had two sons and a daughter, and our family was very lively. I played with your two cousins ​​all day long, and they followed me when I herded cattle."

Old Zhu sighed and said, "There was a severe drought when I was fifteen, and your great-grandfather, great-grandmother and your great uncle starved to death. It was hard back then, and your great-uncle and I went around asking for help from others, and only then did Marquis Yihui give us a piece of land out of kindness, so that your great-grandfather and his family could have a place to bury their bodies. They didn't even have a coffin, just a few rags of clothes."

Old Zhu continued, "Your second great uncle and your first great aunt all fled. Godmother Wang next door was afraid that I would have nowhere to go, so she prepared some things for me and asked me to become a monk. But I didn't know that I couldn't become a monk at that time, because there was no food in the temple. I wandered around and begged for food. I was seventeen that year, and I didn't join the rebel army until I was twenty-five."

Zhu Yunhuan looked at the tablet in front of him and said, "I know this."

Old Zhu said proudly, "You know, everyone in the world knows. When I founded the country, some civil officials wanted to find a good ancestor for me, saying that I had a good background. I didn't like it. I was a commoner from Huaixi, and my parents starved to death. I went out to beg for food for several years, and people hated me. Yunhu, why do you think I did this?"

"Birth is birth, our Zhu family is the Zhu family." Zhu Yunhuan replied, "Besides, knowing the difficulties of starting a business from a humble background is not a bad thing. I am just worried that our future descendants, who are of noble descent, may not understand our grandfather."

Old Zhu was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "That's true. Our children and grandchildren are well-dressed and well-fed, much richer than the rich Liu family in our hometown. If you were to beg for food, not only would you not get any food, you wouldn't even be able to get a bite of hot shit."

Old Zhu looked at Zhu Yunhuan's back and said, "I tell you this because I want to tell you that it was not easy for our family to gain the world."

Zhu Yunhuan certainly understood these things. "I know it's not easy to conquer the world. It's hard to conquer the country, and it's even harder to keep it."

Old Zhu smiled with satisfaction and said, "It's best that you understand this. I told your father in the early years that there are a few things to remember when being an emperor. One is benevolence. Only by being benevolent can one avoid being careless and violent. One is wisdom. Only by being wise can one avoid being deceived by treacherous people. One is diligence. Only by being diligent can one avoid being drowned in comfort. One is decisiveness. Only by being decisive can one avoid being bound by grammar. Your father did a good job, but he passed away a little early, otherwise he would definitely have become a wise ruler."

In Zhu's eyes, his eldest son was the most perfect. In terms of governing the country, the performance of Crown Prince Zhu Biao was almost impeccable, and he looked like a perfect crown prince.

He was very good at handling government affairs and was also very good at checking and balancing civil and military officials. While he was decisive and ruthless, he was also lenient and kind. Both civil officials and military generals recognized this crown prince.

Including the princes of the royal family, they were all obedient to their eldest brother, the crown prince, and did not dare to be dishonest in the slightest.

Old Zhu asked again, "Most of what Zhan Hui and the others knew about the palace today was probably told by the East Palace. If you tell the truth today, Yun Wen may not be able to fight with you in the future."

Zhu Yunhuan turned his head and glanced at Old Zhu, and said in a muffled voice, "I know that if they don't say it, it's hard for outsiders to know. What if they say it? If they say it, as a grandson or emperor, I will depose Yunwen and imprison him even if I don't kill him. I won't go to that step."

There was a hint of smile in Old Zhu's eyes, but he said rudely, "You are too soft-hearted! If you are fighting for the throne, you shouldn't do this!"

Zhu Yunhuan asked back, "If we really want to fight for the throne, will brothers kill each other? Will fathers and sons be suspicious of each other? Before the throne of our Zhu family is passed on, we must first have the blood of the Zhu family on our hands?"

Old Zhu was so angry that he jumped up and down, "Is this how your father taught you to talk back to me?"

Zhu Yunxun said guiltily, "No, this has nothing to do with him."

Zhu Yunhuan was embarrassed for a moment before he said, "Grandfather has long set the rule to pass on the throne to the eldest son. This is the best, so that no one can mess around in the future. What does virtuous mean? Isn't it because Grandfather thinks Yunhuan is virtuous that he is the legitimate son? If he is not virtuous, then I am the legitimate son, right?"

Old Zhu's blood pressure is soaring. This third grandson of the emperor is good in every way except that he doesn't know how to obey him as the emperor. He has to make people angry!

Old Zhu immediately said, "Yunhuan, we are old, I am afraid we don't have much time left."

Zhu Yunwen said, "Yunwen is fourteen and I am thirteen, only one year apart. If you want to pass the throne to your second uncle, I have nothing to say. If you pass it to Yunwen, I will fight for it."

Old Zhu thought it was funny, "Do you think Yunwen can't keep the world?" "It's strange that he can keep it!" Zhu Yunwen said unhappily, "If he can't keep the world, I will suffer with him. If my father was here, he would have dealt with many things, and Yunwen would be a peaceful emperor, and I wouldn't have to fight for it. Yunwen, it's strange that he can keep it now!"

Old Zhu asked curiously, "Is it still not peaceful now?"

What Zhu said is absolutely correct. The small Northern Yuan Dynasty was destroyed and fled far to the northern desert. The southwest and northwest are also peaceful. There may be some Japanese pirates along the eastern coast, but they are not a big deal.

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Old Zhu and asked, "Grandfather, you insist on sending the uncles to their fiefdoms. Aren't you afraid of causing a rebellion among the Seven Kingdoms?"

Old Zhu became serious and asked, "Since you also know about the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion, you should know that the princes of our Ming Dynasty are different from those princes of the Han Dynasty. The princes of our Ming Dynasty cannot govern the country or interfere in the local affairs. Even the troops and horses of the three guards under their command are all allocated by the imperial court. How can such a prince cause the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion?"

That's true. These princes of the Ming Dynasty certainly had some power, but they were not as independent as the feudal states in the early Western Han Dynasty.

Therefore, the first conspiracy in history, the order to reduce the power of the feudal lords, was actually of no use in the Ming Dynasty.

It was Zhu Yunwen who created the first successful example of a vassal prince's rebellion in history.

What's more, Zhu Yuanzhang sent several of his sons to fiefdoms in order to concentrate imperial power and to take the military power back from the hands of military heroes to prevent them from becoming too powerful.

There are already enough restrictions on the vassal kings, so there is no need to worry too much.

In Zhu Yuanzhang's original plan, as long as his eldest son ascended the throne, some of the military power in the hands of the princes would definitely be taken back.

But who could have thought that this would happen!
Seeing that Old Zhu was about to leave, Zhu Yunhuan said, "Give me the palace talisman, and I will leave the palace tomorrow."

Old Zhu stopped and asked, "Leaving the palace? What are you doing outside the palace?"

Zhu Yunhuan was very confident, "Yunwen has mixed up with the civil officials, and even the Minister of Personnel is in his service. Can't I leave the palace to look for military merits?"

Old Zhu was both angry and amused. "If you hadn't said you wanted to kill Zhan Hui, would he have been willing to show goodwill to Yun Wen? You were the one who delivered that man to Yun Wen!"

To say that Zhu Yunwen was involved with the civil officials would be an exaggeration. But Zhu was still very happy that his grandson was knowledgeable and knew his basic strength.

After taking a look at Zhu Biao's tablet, Lao Zhu said, "Boss, you taught him well. You taught him such an unruly bastard. If I don't kill you, I will kill him!"

After saying that, Old Zhu turned around and left. Zhu Yunhuan was anxious, "Grandfather, where is the palace talisman?"

Old Zhu turned a deaf ear and walked away. He said that one should not look at this grandson for too long. Looking at him too much would make one annoyed and angry.

After Old Zhu left, Zhu Yunwen also sighed. It's not that he hadn't thought about making a scene in the court to embarrass Zhu Yunwen. But that would do no good except to make people laugh at him.

If Zhu really wanted to make Zhu Yunwen the emperor, he would find a reason at that time, for example, Zhu Yunwen was a playboy or had dementia, etc., which were all reasons.

Therefore, speaking out about some things and getting to the bottom of them may not necessarily have such a good effect.

The so-called one-game winner does not exist at all. It still depends on who Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang likes!

It's not a bad thing to fight without breaking now. Just fight slowly, there is still a chance!

(End of this chapter)