Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Chapter 162 A Restless Year
It is definitely necessary to visit relatives during the Chinese New Year. Although for Zhu Yunhuan, there are not many relatives he really needs to visit, they are still younger generations after all.

Especially now that he is only the crown prince, respecting elders is the right attitude.

Old Zhu was very happy to see Zhu Yunhuan visiting relatives. When Li Zhen was still alive, Old Zhu often took his wife and children to visit.

Although it was the New Year, it was not necessarily a relaxing time for Zhu Yunhuan. There were still many things that needed to be dealt with, and some state affairs could not be delayed any longer.

After carefully looking at the list, Zhu Yunhuan said, "We didn't gain much from this expedition. The Five Military Commandery should control this and not give out large rewards or titles."

Lan Yu was quite embarrassed. He had originally wanted to show off, and the Crown Prince had very high expectations of him. However, who knew that he did not encounter the Tartar army at all, and he had all his strength but nowhere to use it.

Xu Huizu, Li Jinglong and others had nothing to say. The three armies had failed to find the Tartars and had only some sporadic gains. It would be a bit self-deception to reward them generously.

Looking at Lan Yu, Zhu Yunhuan asked, "Duke Liang, do you think this is too strict?"

Lan Yu immediately said, "I have not done anything good. Your Highness's not punishing me is a gift. How dare I ask for a reward?"

Zhu Yunhuan nodded slightly and said, "What do you think of the situation in the southwest now?"

In winter, things became chaotic again in Yunnan.

The chieftain of Yuezhou Wei, Azi, rebelled again. This man kept rebelling. Zhu Yunhuan could no longer tolerate such a chieftain who surrendered and then rebelled again.

Not only Zhu Yunhuan could not stand it any more, Mu Chun could not stand it any more. He had just pacified the Yuexi barbarians and established the Lancang Guard, but the Azi of Yuezhou became chaotic. Some ethnic minorities and chieftains in Yunnan were definitely not so easy to subdue.

Lan Yu took the initiative to say, "Your Highness, I am willing to lead the army!"

Li Jinglong also hurried forward and said, "Your Highness, why use a butcher knife to kill a chicken? It is true that the Yuezhou barbarians have repeatedly rebelled, but I think the Marquis of Xiping is capable of suppressing them."

Xu Huizu also said, "I agree with the proposal. The court does not need to send more troops. However, this beast is married to the local chieftains and has been hiding. I think if we capture this beast this time, we can no longer forgive it."

Lan Yu also said quickly, "Your Highness is kindhearted, but those barbarians do not know the king's rule and gratitude. Your Highness, this time the army should wipe out the barbarians in one fell swoop. The leader will be beheaded, and those who join the rebellion will not be spared."

According to some previous policies of the imperial court, some chieftains in Yunnan and Guizhou were basically treated with both kindness and severity. Most of the rebellious chieftains were beaten into submission and confessed their crimes, so they were given a break.

This A Zi has never learned a lesson. He was punished by Mu Ying once a few years ago.

Zhu Yunhuan thought the same. "That's right. Ah Zi and Si Lun Fa are still somewhat different. How about this, let Si Lun Fa pay tribute in person this year."

Si Lunfa of Luchuan was also a huge force. After being severely injured by Mu Ying, he surrendered and set a rule of paying tribute every three years. He did not dare to cross the border, but he kept beating small countries such as Myanmar.

"The southwest is not a big problem, the main problem is the north." Zhu Yunhuan said, "Now the Mongols are fighting among themselves. If there is a winner, it must be the strong one. There should be no strong people in Mobei anymore. You guys should focus your energy on Mobei."

These are Zhu Yunhuan's thoughts and ideas. There may be wars in the east, west, south and north of the Ming Dynasty, but at this stage, the hidden danger in the north can be said to be the greatest.

Xu Huizu and others also understood this truth. Even though the Tartars now seemed unable to compete with the Ming Dynasty, they also understood the tenacity of nomadic peoples and that they would soon be able to recover.

Zhu Yunhuan said seriously, "The autumn hunt must continue, but we should not keep working in vain and return without seeing the Tartars."

We must never give those nomadic peoples more opportunities to recuperate, nor can we wait until they fight to produce a winner and integrate the tribes to increase their strength.

Continuous suppression is extremely necessary, and it must be done without mercy.

Lan Yu and others were the generals that Zhu Yunhuan relied on the most. He hoped that these people could make new achievements and bring about decades or even hundreds of years of peace in one fell swoop.

The war-loving Lan Yu and others naturally would not think that this was a difficult task. For them, what they feared most was peace in the world without war. They all liked to make achievements and fight on the battlefield. This was their destiny and the meaning of their existence.

After giving some Dukes some chicken soup and chicken blood, Zhu Yunhuan summoned Ren Hengtai and said, "The Ministry of Rites should prepare. The princes will also start the pilgrimage."

Ren Hengtai naturally had no objection, but still said, "Your Highness, when His Highness the Crown Prince was in Beijing before, we felt that the ceremony of the Crown Prince's succession to the title and the funeral rites of the kings were a bit presumptuous."

Seeing that Zhu Yunhuan was silent, Ren Hengtai said, "When His Royal Highness Prince Lu passed away, there was a Ming Tower built in the mausoleum. This is unprecedented. Even the mausoleum of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince does not have a Ming Tower."

There is a Ming Tower in the Mausoleum of King Luhuang, which is also a factor of the incomplete ritual system before, and it is definitely an act of usurpation in terms of the ritual system.

Zhu Yunhuan said, "Uncle Lu's palace had its reasons, so it's not easy to tear it down. As for the ceremony of the crown prince's succession to the title and the funeral rites of the kings, you can refer to the old Tang and Song systems to improve them, and discuss them after the King of Qin and others return to Beijing."

Since the Crown Prince had said so, Ren Hengtai naturally stopped while he was ahead. The things he raised were also the job of a Minister of Rites.

Looking at Zhu Yunhuan, Ren Hengtai asked, "Does His Royal Highness the King of Wulin need to pay homage this year?" "He won't pay homage." Zhu Yunhuan said directly, "Wait until the mourning period for my father is over, and then let him come back."

Theoretically speaking, the mourning period for larger families is three years.

However, the emperor and the prince both used days instead of months or years. After all, it was impossible for the emperor and the prince to observe mourning for three years, etc. That would be a bit inappropriate.

Even Zhu Yunhuan did not actually observe three years of mourning for Zhu Biao. But in the eyes of Zhu and the officials, he was observing three years of mourning, which was considered to be a rule and an example.

Filial piety is an excellent quality in any era, especially as a crown prince, it can become a role model praised by the world.

Zhu Yunhuan continued, "My eldest sister's marriage must also be arranged. The etiquette for the princess's marriage should be checked to see if there are any omissions. This will also be the regulation of the court in the future."

Hearing Zhu Yunhuan say this, Ren Hengtai did not dare to be careless, "I obey your order."

There were many princesses who married into the imperial court, and logically speaking, the etiquette for a princess' marriage should have been set.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang still has to take the blame. He made rules and changed them at the same time. Some rules seemed to be in line with the old systems of the Tang and Song dynasties, but he changed a lot of them himself, so this means that they need to be constantly improved.

They started working before the Lantern Festival, but Zhu Yunhuan should not complain, as all officials were used to it. This was the court of the Ming Dynasty, and this was the ruler and his subjects, and they all had to be diligent.

Zhu Yunxun looked at Ren Hengtai and said, "After my mourning period is over, I will also arrange my marriage, and prepare everything in advance."

In fact, the ceremony for the crown prince to marry a concubine was basically the same as that for the emperor to marry a queen. However, there was no "personal welcoming ceremony" for the emperor to marry a queen, while there was a personal welcoming ceremony for the crown prince to marry a concubine after the Sui and Tang dynasties.

The wedding of the crown prince of Ming Dynasty was no small event. It basically followed the traditional six rituals, which required choosing an auspicious date to report to the Taimiao, then accepting the betrothal gifts and asking for the name, then accepting the betrothal gifts, announcing the date, canonizing the bride, then the sacrifice, welcoming the bride, drinking the wedding wine, and of course, an audience with the emperor and empress.

It can be said that the etiquette is extremely heavy, but these things are also extremely important and are major matters that cannot be taken lightly.

Ren Hengtai said cautiously, "Your Highness, I think it's not appropriate that all the envoys who personally welcome the emperor are nobles."

This is Ren Hengtai's little thought. The Crown Prince is much better than the Emperor. On the surface, he does not discriminate against civil officials, but he is still closer to the nobles. This is a fact.

With reference to some previous events, it is even more clear that this crown prince favors the nobles. This of course makes civil servants such as Ren Hengtai secretly anxious, and they are also thinking about working hard to improve this situation.

If all the nobles still show up at the Crown Prince's wedding, the civil officials' faces will be thrown to the ground and trampled on again.

Zhu Yunxun smiled and said, "Minister Ren is right. We will see what happens when the time comes."

Ren Hengtai didn't know how to respond to the Crown Prince's answer. It seemed that there was a positive response, but there was no clear answer. The Crown Prince always liked to keep the civil servants on suspense like this.

It looks peaceful. After all, we are still in the Chinese New Year period and we only need to deal with some daily or ceremonial matters.

But some things are just so unexpected, there are always some undercurrents or sudden accidents.

A fast horse was galloping on the post road, and a Jinyiwei rushed back to Yingtianfu and headed straight for the imperial city.

Guo Ying received the news first, and then hurriedly sent someone to escort the Jinyiwei to Wenhua Palace.

"Your Highness!" The Royal Guards looked terrified and knelt down, saying, "Your Highness the Prince of Qin was almost killed!"

Zhu Yunhuan stood up suddenly, with an unpleasant expression, "Is this true? How is my second uncle?"

The Jinyiwei immediately reported, "The King of Qin is fine, he is just frightened."

Zhu Yunhuan immediately shouted, "Order Mei Yin to go to Xi'an immediately and bring the Prince of Qin back to me! The Prince of Qin's mansion needs to be reorganized!"

After saying this, Zhu Yunhuan became even more unhappy. "Tell Jiang Lin to bring his men over immediately. If the King of Qin dares to disobey, tie him up and bring him here. If he dares to go crazy in the palace, tie him up and send him back!"

Zhu Yunhuan then took out an imperial edict and began to write it very carefully. He then took out his seal and stamped it with a clang.

No one paid attention to the fact that the imperial edict was blank before, and no one cared that the emperor's seal was in the hands of the crown prince. Because even the people serving in Wenhua Hall couldn't figure out when those things came over.

Zhu Yunhuan was even more confused, as if without realizing it, his Wenhua Hall was full of imperial edicts and imperial seals. Sometimes, the edicts he issued were also regarded as imperial edicts and executed.

(End of this chapter)