Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Chapter 172 Since ancient times (Please subscribe!)
Although he did not have much contact with his second uncle, some impressions of Zhu Yunhuan were still very deep.

Ignoring his second uncle's scheming, methods, and abilities, there is no doubt that he is smart and intelligent. The reason why he is the eldest of the Ming kings is not just because he is the second son of Zhu.

Zhu Chong has a high prestige among all the princes, and there is a reason for this.

When Old Zhu saw Zhu Yunhuan, he asked directly, "How is the discussion with your second uncle going?"

Zhu Yunxun complained with a smile, "It has some initial results, but my second uncle is too smart and it's hard to fool him. I said some things and my second uncle basically agreed with them. The rest depends on my grandfather to make him bow his head."

Old Zhu nodded, and then asked, "Now that I am here, I can certainly force him to bow his head, and he has no choice but to admit it. But what about the future? What if I am no longer here? What will I do?"

Zhu Yunhuan was not too worried about these things. "My second uncle is a smart man, and my fifth uncle is also a very smart man. They both know their limits and know when to advance and when to retreat. Now it's just because they are confident and feel that grandfather and I won't take it too seriously."

Hearing what Zhu Yunhuan said, Old Zhu nodded. In fact, he thought so in his heart.

After thinking carefully for a moment, Lao Zhu said, "Let Shang Bing go back. The Qin Palace cannot be without a leader."

"I have also told my second uncle about the matter of my second aunt." Zhu Yunhuan said, "But Shang Bing is not the son of my second aunt, and I don't know what my second aunt's personality is like. So we still need to weigh this matter. Let my second aunt go and give her some respect."

Old Zhu naturally had no objection. In history, Guanyin slaves in the Qin Wangfu were buried alive after the death of the Qin Wang. This can be said to be unique, which also shows that Old Zhu did not care much about this daughter-in-law.

Old Zhu naturally agreed with Zhu Yunhuan's statement. No matter what, Guanyin Nuna was the nominal mistress of the Qin Palace, which meant that she had to maintain some dignity on the surface.

Zhu Yunhuan continued, "Second Uncle is not willing to accept these things, but the situation is stronger than people, and he has no choice but to bow his head. The rest still needs to be handled by Grandfather, after all, I am just a junior."

Old Zhu nodded slightly and handed over a memorial. "Look at this. What are you going to do?"

Zhu Yunhuan took the memorial and started reading it, then he couldn't help but frown.

The past fifty years have truly been a time of dynasty division and unification, not to mention the entire East Asia and even Asia.

There is no need to talk about the Ming Dynasty. Lee Seong-gye usurped the throne in Goryeo, and the Southern and Northern Dynasties just ended in Japan. The Northern Yuan Dynasty is still fighting for the Khanate. Timur also killed Milihusin, seized the power of the Western Chagatai Khanate and established the Timurid Kingdom.

The situation in Southeast Asia is also not peaceful. The Majapahit Kingdom, which paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty, has been making continuous efforts, and now Srivijaya is in a precarious situation.

In the Chen Dynasty of Annan, there was a situation where treacherous heroes abused their power, powerful families were divided, and the people frequently rose up in rebellion.

Seven years ago, the powerful Annan official Hu Jinyao forced Emperor Chen Xuan to death. The retired emperor of the Chen Dynasty ordered the painter to paint the stories of Zhou Gong assisting King Cheng of Zhou, Huo Guang assisting Emperor Zhao of Han, Zhuge Liang assisting the last emperor of Shu in Chinese history, and Su Xiancheng assisting Emperor Li Gaozong in Vietnamese history. The painting was named "The Four Assistants Picture" and given to Le Jinyao, hoping that he would emulate Zhou Gong, Huo Guang and others.

As a result, this powerful official was unable to stop his intention to usurp the throne, and his actions were even accelerating.

Zhu Yunhuan read the memorial carefully and said, "Annan is also a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. We cannot ignore these matters."

Old Zhu said, "You didn't say that during the Goryeo period."

Wang's Goryeo also sent envoys to Ming Dynasty, hoping that Ming Dynasty, the suzerain, would send troops to attack Lee Seong-gye. However, Zhu Yuanzhang did not like Wang's Goryeo monarch's fickleness, and he thought that Goryeo's affairs did not require a long expedition, so he did not interfere.

Zhu Yunhuan had similar thoughts. He did not recognize Lee Seong-gye's usurpation of the throne and maintained his status as the suzerain of Wang's Goryeo. In any case, he wanted to occupy the country in name only and would not send troops for the time being.

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "Annan is quite obedient to our Ming Dynasty. If we really do nothing, that would not be good either."

Old Zhu nodded and said, "That's right. In the eighth year of Hongwu, we ordered Wu Bozong, the deputy minister of the Ministry of Rites, to go to Annan as an envoy. He commanded respect from the people of Annan with his reputation and virtue."

Wu Bozong was the top scholar in the fourth year of Hongwu, the beginning of the Ming Dynasty's imperial examinations. However, he had a difficult career, offending Hu Weiyong, disobeying the emperor's order and refusing to take up his post at the Imperial Academy, and recommending his brother to be an official, but he turned out to be a mediocre person. He was banished to Yunnan ten years ago and died there.

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "I will arrange to send a number one scholar, and it will be a good story. I think the Minister of Rites Ren Hengtai is a good choice. Not only is he the number one scholar, but he is also the Minister of Rites of the Ming Dynasty. On the one hand, he can show the imperial power, and on the other hand, he can make the people of Annan understand the relationship between the monarch and his subjects, and the laws of etiquette."

Old Zhu thought about it carefully and said, "Okay, but the Minister of Rites is here, so it won't interfere with the court's affairs, right?"

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Old Zhu and asked, "Grandfather, there is still a vacancy for the Shangshu position. I have to hurry and find someone."

The Ming Dynasty was founded nearly thirty years ago, and the six ministers were often vacant, and there has been no change until now. After thinking for a while, Old Zhu said, "You should think about this matter carefully, but if I don't like the person you choose, I won't approve it."

"The matter of sending Ren Hengtai as an envoy to Annan still needs to be discussed in the court." Zhu Yunhuan said, "When the time comes, we must send some people over to prevent the Shangshu of the Ming Dynasty from being murdered or killed."

Old Zhu immediately felt something was wrong and said, "You better be careful! Letting Ren Hengtai go is to show the emperor's power. It would be a joke if our Shangshu of the Ming Dynasty was killed by a small country like you!"

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "I'm not ready yet. I don't want my Ming envoys to be the same as the Han envoys. At least it's not appropriate now. If Ren Hengtai is really killed, we won't be able to send troops at that time!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was at a loss for words, but he still said, "It's good that you know what's going on. It's not a good time to attack Annan now."

It’s not easy to deal with the east of Annan, but that doesn’t mean there’s a lack of room for maneuver. Some things still need to be prepared in advance.

"But before Ren Hengtai leaves, he must make sure that Second Uncle's matter is done well." Zhu Yunhuan said, "Second Uncle's actions must be explained to the world. Now all officials are speculating."

Although Lao Zhu was not happy, he still said, "That's what happened. You are not allowed to mention his previous mistakes again, or we will have to get rid of him."

Zhu Yunhuan also said, "Let's just talk about this incident. It's just that the palace servants poisoned him. We won't mention anything else."

With such a guarantee from Zhu Yunhuan, Zhu could naturally relax. Although his grandson liked to act on his own, he would not lie about such things.

Even if this matter was basically finalized, it still depended on the attitudes of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Yunhuan. Especially Zhu Yuanzhang, he was the one who was in charge of the family now, and he still had to make the decision. Zhu Yunhuan, the grandson, could only give some reference opinions at most.

A new day has begun, and the reporting process is proceeding in an orderly manner.

Lian Zining, the Left Censor-in-Chief, who had just finished mourning for his mother, submitted a memorial to the emperor, saying that a few days ago, three old women in the Qin Palace in Xi'an attempted to poison the Qin King because they were afraid of his power. Fortunately, they were stopped in time.

There was an uproar in the court and the country. Everyone knew that the Prince of Qin had returned to the capital, and they had also heard that the emperor had summoned all the princes outside the capital, but no one knew what was going on.

Now we know that the King of Qin had caused such a big incident. Lian Zining must have kept his report to himself. The three old ladies must not have taken the risk of poisoning because they were afraid of the King of Qin's power. They must have been forced into a desperate situation.

Old Zhu glared at Zhu Yunhuan fiercely. What he had just mentioned yesterday had been arranged today.

Zhu Yunhuan was calm and composed. Lian Zining was the runner-up in the 18th year of Hongwu. He was the loyal minister of Jianwen who brought Li Jinglong to the court, counted his crimes and requested his execution. In the end, Zhu Di cut off his tongue but still wrote "Where is King Cheng?"

The ministers were also discussing the matter, but Zhu Yuanzhang just dealt with it perfunctorily.

No one found this strange, because Emperor Zhu had always been like this, and was extremely protective of his descendants.

Zhu Yunhuan also spoke up, saying, "The Annan envoy reported that a powerful official in his country had deposed the monarch and was attempting to disobey the emperor. Annan was originally a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. Such a rebellious act is really intolerable. The court needs to send an envoy to declare the imperial power. Is there anyone willing to go as an envoy?"

Although it was Annan, a more remote place than Lingnan, many ministers still actively recommended themselves. If they did well, it would be a meritorious service that would be passed down through the ages. Many nobles were also interested. If the court sent troops, they would have military merits in sight!

Annan was part of the Nanyue Kingdom and Jiaozhi County in history.

Zhao Tuo established the Nanyue Kingdom here. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Shi Xie, the governor of Jiaozhou, ruled the country and surrendered to Sun Quan. Also in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Ma Yuan, the general of Fubo, erected copper pillars in four places. "When the copper pillars were broken, Jiaozhi was destroyed."

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Ren Hengtai and said, "Previously, our top scholar and the deputy minister of the Ministry of Rites went on a diplomatic mission to Annan. Now, it would be better for the Minister of Rites to go on a diplomatic mission."

Ren Hengtai did not shirk his responsibilities and said clearly, "I am willing to be your envoy!"

Not all the scholars in the Ming Dynasty were good at talking big and talking nonsense. Many of them still had some ambitions in their hearts.

Many people were jealous. Ren Hengtai had joined the Crown Prince's school early on and now he was seeing the benefits. The Crown Prince was completely attracted by Ren Hengtai for such a good job and wanted him to make achievements and gain fame.

Hardship, as long as there is achievement, what is the hardship now? If you go on a diplomatic mission, you will gain fame and reputation, and maybe even go down in history. This is the lifelong pursuit of many people!

(End of this chapter)