Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Chapter 136: The Great Ming Wise King Part (Part )

The leader just talks and his subordinates work hard.

Zhu Yunhuan, the Crown Prince, arranged some things, so naturally his subordinates had to work overtime to get things done.

Zhu Yunhuan looked at the list prepared by Xia Yuanji and others carefully and couldn't help but sigh deeply. The issue of the treatment of the royal family has always been a thorny issue.

There is no reason to say that Zhu Yunhuan ignored his uncle and brothers after he got the country, but if the royal family was allowed to continue to suck blood, it would not be good for the Ming Dynasty. Restrictions must be imposed when necessary.

Although there were some unpleasant experiences when competing for the crown prince position, that is all in the past.

Zhu Yunhuan could be calm as a winner, while Zhu Yunwen did not dare to show any dissatisfaction at this time.

"I heard that the daughter of Guanglu Shaoqing Ma Quan is not bad. She is well-educated and comes from a scholarly family. She can be your princess." After pouring a glass of wine for Zhu Yunwen, Zhu Yunwen said, "This status is worthy of you. What do you think?"

Zhu Yunwen said with some concern, "In recent years, even if the wives of the princes of the royal family are not from noble families, they are from military officers' families. I'm afraid this is not a good idea, right?"

Zhu Yunhuan joked, "We, the emperor's grandson, should also get close to the civil officials."

Zhu Yunwen did not believe this. "Brother Jihui's Crown Princess is the daughter of the Duke of Ying, Gao Chi's Crown Princess is the daughter of the commander Zhang Qi, and Youdun's Crown Princess is the daughter of the military commander Lu Gui. It can't be that I, the grandson of the emperor, am the only one whose legal wife is from the civil service, right?"

Although he is somewhat afraid of Zhu Yunwen, he still has to fight for what he should fight for. This is also Zhu Yunwen's true feelings now.

He was already a special one among the emperor's grandsons, the only one who was granted the title of a prince without proper reason. Now, he was asked to marry a princess from the civil service group, which was even more obvious.

Even if you are close to scholars, it doesn't mean you don't care about certain status.

Zhu Yunwen was a little bit resistant, which made him feel strange. The daughter of Ma Quan whom he chose, who was Zhu Yunwen's legal wife in history, was burned to death in the Jingnan Campaign.

Zhu Yunhuan just smiled and said, "You are different from them. They are princes of vassal states, and you are my second brother."

Zhu Yunwen was speechless for a moment. If that was really the case, it made sense.

Although in his heart, Zhu Yunwen would rather believe that this was a different treatment for him. But he couldn't point it out directly, so he could only accept this statement silently.

Isn't it just that I don't want him to have any dealings with the nobles? This is the most essential thing!

Zhu Yunhuan also continued, "It is said that the nobles are powerful now, and this must be changed in the future. The uncles who are not married yet do not necessarily choose their princesses from the nobles' families."

Since Zhu Yunhuan said so, Zhu Yunwen had no way to refute anything. That being said, it depends on the individual to understand.

Zhu Yunhuan then continued, "Grandfather had a total of 26 sons. Uncle Nine and Uncle Twenty-six died young, and Uncle Eight died a few years ago without leaving any offspring. Although Uncle Ten is no longer with us, at least Zhaohui is his heir. With this calculation, we now have 22 princes in the Ming Dynasty. Is that right?"

Zhu Yunwen nodded as well, because Zhu Zhaohui would inevitably inherit the title of Prince of Lu in two years, and this title had not been abolished.

"Twenty-two princes, even if the annual salary is reduced to 10,000 dan in two years, that's still 220,000 dan." Zhu Yunhuan continued, "Father has five sons, and besides my eldest brother, you three brothers will definitely be made princes, which is another 30,000 dan. That's at least 250,000 dan of rice per year, which is a lot."

Zhu Yunwen's eyes began to light up, and he felt that he might have the same idea as Yunhuan.

When he was competing for the throne two years ago, he actually considered things that were far ahead, such as the fact that the current princes of the Ming Dynasty were very powerful. So he also wanted to reduce the power of the princes, and after getting rid of a group of princes, there would naturally be less trouble.

Seeing the light in his second brother's eyes, Zhu Yunhuan was shocked. Don't get me wrong!

I have no intention of forcing the emperor's uncle to death and deposing four of his uncles within a year!
If you give it a little more time, ten or twenty years, or even five years, maybe out of the twenty or so imperial uncles, only one or two will be left!

He has been on the throne for just over a year, and the first thing he did was to wield his sword and chop down his own family!
Zhu Yunhuan continued, "It won't take thirty years. Do you believe that the annual supply of the imperial family of the Ming Dynasty is no less than 500,000 shi?"

Zhu Yunwen said without hesitation, "I think it's about the same. Uncle Qin has six sons now, and five county kings mean 10,000 shi. Uncle Jin has six sons, and after Ji Hui gets married, he will probably have children too."

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "Third uncle will probably have another child. We are only brothers, not sisters. Otherwise, it would be a huge fortune."

Zhu Yunhuan handed the list to Zhu Yunwen and said, "This is about the treatment of the royal family. It is definitely not easy to lower it. The royal family was also treated well during the Tang and Song dynasties. After all, they are one family."

Zhu Yunwen was somewhat noncommittal about this. If he became emperor, the definition of family would be narrower. Not all uncles would be considered family, let alone some cousins.

"It is said that the grace of a gentleman will be cut off after five generations, but it is different in the Ming Dynasty." Zhu Yunhuan said with a smile, "The sixth generation grandson and below will be granted the title of Lieutenant of the State, and they will get two hundred stones every year. It may not seem like much, but it will only take a few decades. There are more than a hundred or a thousand royal family members in the Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Yunwen subconsciously took the list and took a look at it, then shuddered. It wasn't that what Zhu Yunwen said made him feel scared, it was just that he felt like he had received a hot potato, and he knew there were some things he couldn't avoid.

Looking at the silent Zhu Yunwen, Zhu Yunwen smiled and said, "We are brothers and sisters. I am troubled by some things. Second brother, please help me think of some ideas."

Looking at the smiling tiger in front of him, Zhu Yunwen really wanted to jump up and punch him. But he didn't dare to do it. In addition to the deep scheming of the smiling tiger, it was also because of his status as the crown prince. It was also indispensable that he knew that Zhu Yunhuan could fight since he was a child, and taking action would only bring trouble to himself.

Zhu Yunhuan did not urge him, and said, "You have read a lot and have literary talent, so just remember to submit your report later."

Watching Zhu Yunhuan leave in such a graceful manner, Zhu Yunwen's eyes turned red. He had suffered too much in the past two years. If nothing unexpected happened, he would have to endure more similar things in the future.

Two years ago, when I left Beijing to become a fiefdom, I asked for a reduction in my salary and rice allowance, which offended a large number of royal family members. Now, on top of the original offense, I have to continue to offend them.

Two years ago, the people who were offended were the emperor's uncle and brothers, and two years later, the people who will be offended are the royal family members of future generations.

In the past, he offended princes, dukes, etc., but in the future, even distant relatives will scold him!

Two hundred shi may seem like a trivial amount, but if the descendants of the sixth generation think about how King Wulin had deliberately submitted a petition to 'seize' their supplies, it would be strange if they didn't curse loudly!
Frustrated, angry, and annoyed.

But there is no other way but to accept the task honestly and not be negligent in any way.

"If you want to be scolded, I will be scolded too!" Looking back at Zhu Yunwen, Zhu Yunwen muttered softly, "I did it, how could my grandfather not know about it. Just wait, I will definitely be scolded first!"

You can scold them all you want, but some things about the royal family must be improved.

In addition to the pit of being lieutenant of Fengguo for generations, a series of other improvements in the treatment of royal family members should also be put on the agenda.

Although Old Zhu seems to be in good health now, no one can guarantee some things. Some things can be changed when he is still alive, and the effect is far better than Zhu Yunhuan changing them later.

So Zhu Yunhuan was also racing against time, and he did not dare to be negligent in the slightest.

As for being scolded, so be it. It’s not just one or two times anyway.

Zhu Yunhuan also knew that many members of the royal family knew clearly that he was the one pushing for some things, but it was difficult to point it out because of his status. In their hearts, those members of the royal family might be complaining about something.

But it doesn’t matter much. Zhu Yunhuan did what he should do, and that’s enough.

After returning to the East Palace, Zhu Yunhuan said, "Call the ladies and nobles to go and pay homage together when the time comes."

"You miss your sister-in-law so soon?" Zhu Yourong said jokingly, "But that's good, it's time to let father and mother meet your sister-in-law."

Zhu Youling said with great admiration, "My sister-in-law is also very talented. Her calligraphy and painting are much better than ours. A few days ago, at my grandmother's house, my sister-in-law was able to chat about military strategies with my aunt."

Zhu Yunhuan was stunned for a moment and asked, "Art of War?"

"Don't you think about where your sister-in-law comes from?" Zhu Yourong said proudly, "Your sister-in-law is also the daughter of a general, much better than you. You are a brave man, and your sister-in-law is a talented general!"

Chang Mao passed away, and Chang Fengshi was brought back and now lives in the Kaiping Palace.

Being attacked by two sisters would not make people angry. Zhu Yunhuan just smiled and said, "Then I really didn't know that she knew the art of war. I just thought she was talented and good at calligraphy and painting."

Zhu Yourong asked with concern, "How is that person?"

"We are doing our duty, no need to worry." Zhu Yunhuan said with a smile, "We have lost our temper. After all, we are brothers. Don't make things too ugly and make people laugh at us."

Zhu Yourong and Zhu Youling nodded, although they certainly could not get close to Zhu Yunwen.

But no matter what, we still have to do the surface work and at least set a good example.

What's more, the Wise King of the Great Ming still has a lot of things to do, and some of the things he is doing now can indeed be helpful to Zhu Yunhuan.

Some hidden dangers need to be resolved at this stage. Fortunately, Zhu Yunhuan is not alone.

With Zhu Yuanzhang's protection and Zhu Yunwen's concerted efforts, they are very confident!

(End of this chapter)