Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Chapter 140 Observing the Government
There is no need for anyone to say more about the situation of the royal family of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yunhuan himself knows it well.

In the past two years, he has been working hard on some things. On the one hand, he reduced the benefits of the royal family, and on the other hand, he loosened the restrictions on some of them. However, this is far from enough. He still has a lot of things to do.

Zhu Yunhuan could not give unreserved support and trust to the royal family.

Zhu Yunhuan also knew what his second uncle had done. Framing brothers and informing on fathers and brothers were not uncommon in history, and the royal family of the Ming Dynasty did not do it often.

There were even examples of rebellion, the successful one was Zhu Di, and the unsuccessful one was the great-great-grandson of Ning Wang Zhu Quan.

These princes have great power and high status. If they are not given some shackles, they will do whatever they want.

After a busy day, Zhu Yunxun strolled to Wuying Hall, looked at the food and said, "It's time to eat something light. I've been eating a bit greasy lately."

Old Zhu said disdainfully, "As long as there's something to eat, it's fine. You're just picky. You said before that it would eat anything, but I didn't know it was so hard to feed!"

"Yes, he can eat, but he didn't say he would wrong himself." Zhu Yunhuan sat down with a smile, poured a glass of wine for Old Zhu, and poured a small glass for himself. "Today, Fu Youde went to Xiuwu Garden. He was happy."

Old Zhu said without comment, "He also knows that the military power is still in the hands of the emperor. He is already seventy years old. How much can he expect? He just wants to leave some benefits for his descendants. This is considered a profit."

It's okay to say that, even though a general like Fu Youde seems to hold the military power. But when facing the imperial power, he has no spare energy to resist, which naturally means that there is no better way to keep it, otherwise it will only make yourself suffer, which is counterproductive.

Zhu Yunhuan also smiled and said, "That's true. In the future, not to mention the nobles, many third- and fourth-rank generals will be considered his disciples, so he is naturally happy about it. He is already seventy years old, and he doesn't have much ambition anymore."

Old Zhu glanced at Zhu Yunhuan and said, "He is only three years older than us. He is more fortunate than us."

Zhu Yunhuan was speechless for a moment, and then said, "That's different. No matter what he says, he is just a minister."

"I felt quite comfortable last year. Both my grandfather and grandson were acting like idiots. It was comfortable when there were not many people to do things." Old Zhu sighed and said, "Now I really don't have enough energy. It's time for you to observe politics."

Looking at the gray-haired old Zhu, Zhu Yunhuan did not refuse, "Okay, I will go to the court and observe government affairs every day from now on."

Hearing what Zhu Yunhuan said, Old Zhu instantly became much happier and drank the wine in one gulp.

In fact, Zhu Yunhuan has been doing a lot of work since he was named the Crown Prince. It is fine to say that he was observing the government, and it is also not a big problem to say that he was managing the government, because many things were indeed handled by him.

However, he was not very active in attending court. He only went there for some formal meetings or when there were important events.

Although many important matters are discussed by summoning important officials in Wuying Hall and Wenhua Hall, this does not mean that morning court sessions are unnecessary.

There were very few emperors like Emperor Jiajing who did not attend court for decades, not to mention that the cabinet at that time already controlled a great deal of power. There was no such soil in the early Ming Dynasty, and the imperial power was still highly concentrated in the hands of the emperor.

Early morning court also represents "legitimate" and is a sign that the Crown Prince officially observes and manages government affairs.

Old Zhu looked at Zhu Yunhuan and said, "Since you are here to observe government affairs this time, don't pretend to be deaf and dumb."

"I see. It's definitely different from before." Zhu Yunhuan joked, "If I don't speak now and pretend to be confused, those civil and military officials will probably be unsure and will definitely think I'm up to something bad again."

Hearing Zhu Yunhuan's self-mockery, Old Zhu couldn't help but laugh, "That's true, they are afraid of me and say I am overbearing. You are not much better. In the past, I thought you were just hiding your incompetence, but now I guess as long as you don't speak, you must have made up your mind."

In the past, Zhu Yunhuan basically just listened and did not speak in the court, taking "observing politics" to the extreme, almost just listening and not speaking.

This was indeed possible before, because Zhu Yunhuan had just been appointed as the Crown Prince at that time and did not know much about government affairs. He did not know much about the officials, and the officials did not know much about him either.

But now it is different. Many people actually know whether this Crown Prince has cunning and skills, and what his character is like. There is no need to hide his shortcomings.

Since you have to observe politics now, you should observe it carefully. There are many things that require you to behave like a crown prince.

Old Zhu looked very happy and said, "You have made a lot of progress in the past two years. It would be a lie for the civil and military officials to say they are not afraid of you. You have the same personality as your father, you look easy to talk to, but you are ruthless when it comes to action."

Zhu Yunhuan also flattered him and said, "He is just relying on his grandfather's favor to bully others. That's why he has no taboos."

Old Zhu waved his hands, not buying it. "That's true, but if you don't live up to your expectations, it's useless for me to pamper you. I can tell whether they are afraid of me or you."

This is easy to understand. Zhu Yunxun also said, "Lan Yu still speaks in a muddle-headed way in front of me sometimes, but at least he has restrained himself. There are not many people he can be afraid of, and I am at most half of them now." Old Zhu was very happy. "Sometimes I can't sleep well just thinking about his temper. In the past, I always thought that if your grandmother was gone, and I was gone too, would you be able to deal with him? Now I'm not afraid anymore. No matter how bad he is, he should know what's going on."

"I'm just afraid of my second and third uncles now." Zhu Yunhuan said casually, "They will definitely be difficult to discipline in the future. If they really make me uncomfortable, what else can I do?"

Old Zhu joked, "You and your second and third uncles, don't they look powerful? What do you have to be afraid of? Once you sit on the throne, they will take the lead in kowtowing to you."

"Grandfather, believe it or not, if that time really comes, the two of them will definitely be even more unrestrained." Zhu Yunhuan said directly, "They won't do anything too big, but they can always disgust people."

Zhu Yunhuan was not afraid of his second uncle and third uncle's rebellion, so this was not meant to offend the King of Qin and the King of Jin.

Old Zhu was silent for a long time before he said, "The third one is better, but the second one is hard to say. He is not even afraid of me, so it would be strange if he is afraid of you!"

How should I put it? Zhu Gang is indeed slightly better than Zhu Chong, but this improvement is only relatively limited.

The cruel Zhu Chong had built a dragon bed privately in the past, and had also robbed military households and civilians. He had tortured and killed palace maids, and castrated captured barbarian children. His various illegal acts were too numerous to list, but he seemed to be very smart, as he kept jumping around Zhu's bottom line and only made a big mistake once.

This "big mistake" means that you only make the same thing once, and then find something else to do it again.

It is said that he tortured and killed palace maids, castrated barbarian children, etc. These things are indeed against heaven and earth, but in today's feudal era, let alone human rights. Many wealthy families may not be more noble than Zhu Chong.

Zhu Yunhuan also said, "I am afraid of these things now. In fact, it is not just my second and third uncles. I also have these concerns about other uncles. After all, they are elders. There are some things I can't do."

Old Zhu couldn't help but look at Zhu Yunhuan, thinking that this grandson must have no good intentions.

Seeing that Old Zhu was not fooled, Zhu Yunhuan had no choice but to take his time.

After returning to the East Palace after eating and drinking, Zhu Yunhuan said, "Big sister, second sister, I will go to court every day starting tomorrow."

Zhu Yourong and Zhu Youling did not think this matter was worth being surprised or happy about. In their opinion, this was all very natural. Their younger brother's position as the crown prince was as stable as Mount Tai, and he had already been handling some political affairs. It was normal for him to go to court now.

Zhu Yourong said, "Well, let's get the palace people ready. We must not miss these important matters."

Zhu Yunhuan also thought so. Although these people in the Eastern Palace were transferred here later, they could distinguish between big and small matters.

The most important thing is that these people in the East Palace are not completely newcomers. They are all very good at understanding the rules of the palace and handling major events.

"Every day I meet with all the ministers, listen to the reports of various departments, and practice state affairs." Zhu Yunhuan said with emotion, "My grandfather asked my father to do this, and now it's my turn. My good days are over!"

Zhu Yourong and Zhu Youling smiled. Their little brother was fine in other aspects except that he liked to sleep in. But as long as he started to attend court, he would have to get up early.

However, this is the job of the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty. He needs to meet with ministers every day, listen to and review reports from various government offices, and assist the emperor in handling daily government affairs.

What's more, Zhu Yunhuan was relatively late in starting school, and for more than a year he had been receiving Mr. Zhu's "small class teaching" and one-on-one tutoring.

After briefly chatting with his two sisters for a while, Zhu Yunhuan returned to his bedroom to rest.

Being called up before daybreak, Zhu Yunhuan hurriedly washed and ate something to fill his stomach. It would be difficult to exercise in the morning from now on, as he had to go to court before daybreak.

When they saw Zhu Yunhuan appear outside the Fengtian Hall, all the ministers became subconsciously nervous.

It's not that they were afraid of this grandson, but in the past two years, whenever this grandson appeared in the court, it basically meant that something big was going to happen. Now that he suddenly appeared in the morning court without any warning, many civil and military officials must be a little nervous.

After the sound of the whip was sounded, Zhu Yunhuan led the civil and military officials into the hall.

After ascending the throne, Old Zhu went straight to the point and issued an edict, saying, "From now on, the Crown Prince will observe government affairs and hear and decide on the announcements of various departments. All political affairs will be handed over to the Crown Prince for disposal!"

Zhu Yunhuan knelt down and said respectfully, "Sun Chen obeys your order!"

(End of this chapter)