Daming: I am the Crown Prince

In order to ensure that Zhu Yunhuan could take over the throne smoothly, Zhu Yuanzhang spared no effort.

It is not just about delegating power and training, but also about enhancing his prestige in all aspects, even taking into account some people around him. All of this is naturally to make the succession of the throne smoother.

Zhu Yunhuan could understand the good intentions of the old Zhu, so he would not have any resistance to many things. He knew that there was no way to avoid it, and being in his position, he naturally had to bear these responsibilities.

No matter what the princes of the Ming Dynasty thought, even if they were unsure and kept reflecting on whether they had made any mistakes, or were dawdling on the road, waiting for other brothers to join them, they would definitely return to Beijing.

Zhu Yunhuan received the Prince of Chu and his entourage the day before, and the Prince of Jin was also about to arrive, so all the royal family members of the Ming Dynasty were about to gather together.

As for Zhu Yunwen, needless to say, he is now in the palace and can talk to his mother and teach his younger brother to read.

Zhu Yunhuan went out of the city again and waited patiently. Looking at the smoke and dust ahead, he couldn't help but want to complain.

"It wasn't a big deal, but you had to make a fuss about it. You could have just come back on your own. It's hard to believe that you just happened to meet me on the road. I'm just being tolerant. If Yun Wen had a temper like that, he would have cut down the vassal state again."

It's no wonder Zhu Yunhuan complained like this, because in theory, the princes were not allowed to have private exchanges. If it was true, although these princes were ordered to return to the capital, they had to avoid suspicion if they met on the road, not to mention that there were people waiting for them.

Zhu Gang took the lead, not only because he was the third brother, but also because he was the most powerful prince in the Ming Dynasty.

When Zhu Gang saw Zhu Yunhuan, he asked directly, "Grandson, how is the King of Qin now?"

Zhu Yunhuan joked, "I'm waiting for you uncles in Fengxian Hall. My sixth uncle and his friends arrived yesterday. After worshipping our ancestors, we were beaten by my second uncle as soon as we left Fengxian Hall. My sixth uncle got the worst beating."

Zhu Gang breathed a sigh of relief, but still said, "He has committed a crime, how can he be allowed to beat someone up?"

"My second uncle insisted that he would discipline my younger brother. What can I do?" Zhu Yunhuan said gloatingly, "When I was trying to stop the fight yesterday, I heard my second uncle say that yesterday was just a stretch, and today is the start of the big show."

Zhu Di immediately stepped forward and said, "Yun Hun, this is not my fault. I am in Beiping, which is too far away. It has been raining recently, and I am traveling with my family, so I am naturally a little slow on the road."

Zhu Gang also said quickly, "That's right, the road is muddy and difficult to walk on, how can you blame us?"

"Seventeenth uncle has come back from Daning, which is even farther away." Zhu Yunhuan was even more gloating, "Fifteenth uncle has come back from Dalinghebei, which is also farther away than Beiping. I know all this, how can Second Uncle not understand it?"

Zhu Zhi immediately complained, "Yun Hun, we grew up together. I'm now a vassal, and I got married last year. There's been no movement in my Liao Palace, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

Zhu Zhi had reason to complain. He had been a vassal for nearly two years. According to common sense, he should have been a vassal in Guangning. However, the palace of the Liao king had not yet been built, so he was temporarily stationed in the north of Daling River.

Last year, Zhu Yuanzhang appointed the daughter of Wuding Hou Guo Ying as the Princess of Liao. According to Zhu Yuanzhang's rules, Guo Ying, the father-in-law, should be in charge of supervising the construction of the Liao Palace.

Just like Lan Yu was responsible for supervising the construction of the Shu Palace, Feng Sheng supervised the construction of the Zhou Palace, and Xie Cheng supervised the construction of the Jin Palace in Taiyuan.

Zhu Yunhuan said quickly, "We will definitely start construction this year, in the spring. But Marquis Wuding can't go, so we can only let the Crown Prince go. Then we can let Duke Song guard the border, and there will definitely be no problem."

Feng Sheng had just returned from Fujian and had rested for a while, but this general who had been idle for several years due to suspicion could not stay idle now. He was about to go to Liaodong to guard it, naturally, to prevent Li Chenggui from getting angry and going crazy and breaking the border.

With Feng Sheng guarding Liaodong, many people can rest assured. His ability is definitely no problem, and he is familiar with Liaodong.

Zhu Zhi said resignedly, "I hope this is true. How could there be a vassal king as miserable as me?"

Zhu Yunhuan joked, "Uncle Eighteen is not happy. It was originally agreed to be Minzhou, and the construction of the palace has already begun. But it is still changed to Yunnan, what can be done about it?"

Min Wang Zhu Yu was supposed to go to Gansu, but now he has to go to Yunnan. Not only his other brothers have been enfeoffed, but his younger brothers have also been enfeoffed, so he can only stay in the capital and go to Yunnan after a while.

Zhu Yunhuan continued, "Uncle Nineteen is also complaining. He has a lot of things to do. He has not yet been enfeoffed, but he has to go to Xuanfu frequently. Xuanhua City is going to be expanded, and he has to keep an eye on it himself."

It was not easy for Prince Gu Zhu Tan either, he nominally ruled Shanggu County and Xuanfu Town, one of the nine towns on the Great Wall. But before he was even given the title of vassal, he had to expand Xuanhua City, which was built in the Tang Dynasty, and was also responsible for building a section of the Great Wall from Changyukou to Dajingmen, and constructing the Dushikou and Suoyangguan passes.

In terms of ability, this Prince Gu was not lacking. In other words, when Zhu Di led the Yan army across the river to attack the Jinchuan Gate, he took the initiative to open the gate of Nancheng to welcome the prince to surrender.

Hearing Zhu Yunhuan say this, Zhu Zhi felt much better. He was unlucky, but his other brothers were even more unlucky than him. This was obviously something to be happy about. He couldn't be the only one with bad luck!
Going out of the city to greet his uncles is what Zhu Yunhuan should do. Just a simple chat will be enough, there will be plenty of time to chat later.

However, Zhu Gang and others still felt a little uneasy, and they naturally had their own reasons to worry.

To put it simply, although they knew what Zhu Chong had done wrong, if they were honest, few of these princes were clean and they were worried about being implicated and punished.

Now that he was called back, it meant that it was not a small matter. How the emperor would deal with it, these people were not sure. The big stone in their hearts could not be put down.

The princes, feeling somewhat nervous, entered the palace and naturally went to Fengxian Hall first. This was something they had to go through.

Seeing Zhu Chong standing outside the Fengxian Hall with a sneer on his face, Zhu Gang and others felt more at ease. Sure enough, the emperor always raised the board high and dropped it gently, so the second brother would definitely not be punished too severely.

But then Zhu Gang and the others started to worry. If they had known that everything was fine, they would have returned sooner. The emperor would not say anything, but the second brother would definitely beat him.

Zhu Yunhuan sneaked away, nominally following etiquette, but he also had things to do.

Zhu Yunhuan went to the side hall to change into the crown and clothes and waited patiently.

Old Zhu appeared holding the large jade tablet. He had not seen Zhu Chong before because he was angry. But the other sons still had to see him when they came back and do things according to the rules he had set.

Old Zhu asked with a smile, "Is your second uncle still blocking the door?"

"It's blocked." Zhu Yunhuan said gloatingly, "Uncle San wanted to hold me back, but I was so smart that I ran away quickly."

"They are brothers!" Old Zhu said with some dissatisfaction, "Seeing their second brother in trouble, they ran away faster than the other. I'm afraid there's no hope for them to be friendly and respectful to each other."

Zhu Yunhuan consoled him by saying, "It's just a fight between brothers. The uncles haven't had any unpleasantness yet. I saw it today. Third uncle and fourth uncle were both talking and laughing."

Old Zhu said directly, "Talking and laughing? I'm afraid they wouldn't talk if they saw each other. If it weren't for the current situation, it would be strange for them to come back together. In front of us and in front of you, they seem to be quite well behaved."

Zhu Yunhuan could only tell the truth, "That's true. I didn't know that my third uncle and fourth uncle had a bad relationship before. I just thought they seemed a little strange and didn't talk to each other much. But when talking to other people, they were fine and talked and laughed."

"I don't care about them. Brothers in ordinary families would still quarrel." Lao Zhu said, "When you send troops to the Northern Expedition in the future, your third uncle and fourth uncle should lead the troops separately. They are still fighting for merit. You can't let them be in the same army. You have to prevent them from ignoring the overall situation in order to attack."

It is not easy to grasp the right balance, but Zhu Yunhuan knows that if he wants to reuse the princes of the royal family, he must weigh the pros and cons. After all, the Prince of Jin and the Prince of Yan are important choices for using troops in the north.

After worshipping their ancestors, Zhu Gang and others came to the side hall and naturally saluted Old Zhu.

After receiving the gift, Old Zhu looked at his sons carefully. He felt relieved when he thought his sons were in good spirits.

"Well, you brothers haven't seen each other for a long time. It's rare for you to get together." Old Zhu smiled and said, "You all get together tonight. Yunxun will host a banquet tomorrow."

With that, Old Zhu took Zhu Yunhuan away. He was no longer bothered to take care of his sons' affairs.

As soon as Old Zhu left, Zhu Chong came running over angrily, "Old Three, Old Four, you are really great! Do you think I will be demoted to a commoner and don't care whether I live or die?"

Zhu Gang said quickly, "Second brother, what are you talking about! I'm thinking of a way, and I'm discussing with my brothers to write a petition together to plead for mercy. How can we just sit there and watch when Second Brother is unhappy? I heard that you were almost poisoned, and I can't eat or drink!"

Zhu Di also said quickly, "Second brother, you raised me, how can I just stand there and watch? You know me, I'm not that kind of person!"

Zhu Chong raised his fist and said, "I know you too well! You can't rely on any of you at the critical moment! I always protect you from the wind and rain, and this is how you treat me?"

The scene of brothers being friendly and respectful to each other naturally took place. Zhu Chong, the King of Qin, still had status. The title of the leader of all the kings of the royal family was not just a casual statement. Even the King of Jin, the King of Yan and others were indeed just younger brothers in front of him.

Zhu Yunhuan would not stand out at this time. He would hide as far away as possible. This was the smartest way to do it. There was no need to think about having a sense of presence all the time. (End of this chapter)