Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Chapter 2 Can he protect the world?
Young people lose their parents, middle-aged people lose their spouses, and old people lose their children.

Zhu Yuanzhang, who had spent most of his life in conspiracy, betrayal, and bloodshed, longed for family affection in his heart.

But now he is just the high and mighty Hongwu Emperor. He is no longer Zhu Yuanzhang, but just the emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Looking at the stubborn young man in front of him, Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "What do you want to do by making a scene in the palace with a sword?"

Zhu Yunhuan knelt down at this time, but still raised his head and looked at Lao Zhu, "How can I see my grandfather without a sword?"

Old Zhu's eyes gleamed, and he asked again, "Whose blood is on the sword?"

"The guard beside me is named Ma." Zhu Yunhuan answered directly, "He is my front guard and usually provides the best protection. Today, I went crazy and rushed into the palace with a sword, and he tried his best to stop me. I got anxious and cut off his hand with the sword."

Zhu Yuanzhang was furious and shouted, "How can you be so cruel at such a young age!"

After saying this, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately shouted to his attendants, "Why don't you send someone to treat that guard quickly?"

Then Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Yunhuan and asked, "Did you cut his hand and hurt him or what?"

Zhu Yunxun said unsurely, "It was cut off."

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately looked at Zhu Yunhuan seriously, and after a moment he said, "The guard surnamed Ma is also loyal to his duty. Since his hand is disabled, send him out of the palace after he is cured and give him a centurion."

Zhu Yuanzhang then bent down to pick up the sword, but Zhu Yunhuan was startled and subconsciously dodged back.

Zhu Yuanzhang, who was already angry, became even angrier. "Since you dared to break into the palace with a sword, I thought you had some courage! What? Are you afraid that I will kill you?"

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Zhu Yuanzhang cautiously, feeling somewhat embarrassed. "I'm not afraid. Grandfather Huang will definitely not kill me."

Zhu Yuanzhang narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "Oh? Are you so sure? You hurt people and broke into the palace. Even if we don't kill you, we will punish you."

Zhu Yunhuan replied in a low voice, "If it's a small one, I'll take it, if it's a big one, I'll leave."

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned for a moment and then became completely angry. "Who? Who taught you?"

Zhu Yunhuan must have understood what he meant, so he would accept a minor punishment. If the punishment was severe, he would immediately run away.

This was obviously unacceptable to Emperor Hongwu. If he wanted to punish his subjects, how could he not find someone?
Zhu Yunhuan answered in a lower voice, "Who else could it be?"

Lao Zhu's anger disappeared instantly. There was only one person who could say "If it's a small matter, take it; if it's a big matter, run away".

But after a while, Zhu Yuanzhang became even more angry, "Your father hasn't been buried yet, and you don't wear mourning clothes. Do you still have any filial piety?"

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and asked, "Grandfather, when my father was ill, did I show up? When my father was lying in state, which of the civil officials did not praise Yunhuan for his filial piety? Who in the palace did not praise the Crown Princess for her virtue?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was such a powerful figure that there was no need to explain some things clearly; he would naturally understand them.

Now think about it, when the prince was seriously ill, it was indeed only Yunwen who attended to him. When the prince died, Yunwen was at the coffin, and he was so sad that he became unrecognizable.

For a time, some eunuchs and maids in the palace were praising His Royal Highness the Second Grandson for his benevolence and filial piety. Some civil servants in the court were also praising His Royal Highness the Second Grandson for his kind nature, kindness, affinity with the wise and love of learning, and that he had quite the style of the former crown prince.

And what about the third grandson of the emperor, Zhu Yunhuan?

It seems that she only glanced at him a few times during the vigil, and then returned to the East Palace. It is said that she did not shed a few tears when the prince passed away.

Zhu Yuanzhang held the sword and looked around at the maids and eunuchs kneeling beside him, "Okay! Okay!"

Old Zhu then looked at Zhu Yunwen and asked, "If I favored Yunwen, why would I kill your whole family?"

Zhu Yunhuan asked directly, "Can he protect the country?"

Old Zhu flew into a rage and immediately shouted, "That's better than you! You never liked to study since you were a child. You only liked to raise cats and play with dogs, and you were brave and fierce! You are cruel and unintelligent. Can you protect the country?"

Old Zhu had indeed only seen this grandson a few times, but he knew some things about him. His eldest daughter-in-law gave birth to four children in four years, and died the same month after giving birth to Zhu Yunhuan.

Biaoer and Chang had been in love since they were babies, and they had been inseparable since childhood. Old Zhu also liked his bold and generous eldest daughter-in-law very much, but it was a pity that she passed away at the age of 24.

Even the current Crown Princess Lu was not liked by Crown Prince Zhu Biao at first. Instead, Chang felt sorry for her because she was helpless and often took care of her. In the tenth year of Hongwu, Lu gave birth to Zhu Biao's second son Zhu Yunwen, and from then on she gained a firm foothold in the Eastern Palace.

Zhu Xiongying, the eldest son born to the eldest daughter-in-law, was raised by Zhu and Empress Ma, but unfortunately he died of illness in the 15th year of Hongwu, at the age of 8. The empress was too sad, and she also died soon after, as she was already in poor health.

As for Zhu Yunhuan and his two sisters, they had been raised in the Eastern Palace and taken care of by Lady Lu. It was said that Lady Lu had been very good to Zhu Yunhuan and his sisters over the years, and obeyed them in everything.

It is said that the crown prince never liked Zhu Yunhuan, thinking that Zhu Yunhuan had a tough life. He was somewhat angry at Zhu Yunhuan for Chang's early death.

Old Zhu didn't want to think about those things now, he just asked, "If Yunwen is made emperor, why would your whole family be killed?"

Zhu Yunxun stiffened his neck and said directly, "My uncle was demoted to Longzhou. It was his own fault. He can't blame anyone else!"

Zhu Yunhuan's uncle was Chang Mao, Duke of Zheng, one of the six founding dukes. As the eldest son of Chang Yuchun, Chang Yuchun was cared for since childhood. He studied and ate with the crown prince. Zhu hoped that he would inherit his father's career in the future.

But Chang Mao was an out-and-out dandy. A few years ago, Feng Sheng was the general who conquered Nahachu, and Chang Mao followed him. But when Nahachu asked for surrender, Chang Mao rushed to capture Nahachu without thinking, causing Nahachu to escape on horseback. Chang Mao drew his sword and slashed Nahachu's arm, causing Nahachu's men to flee in panic.

Feng Sheng was very angry afterwards, and did not care that Chang Mao was his son-in-law. He reported all kinds of crimes against Chang Mao and had him tied up and sent to the capital. However, Chang Mao also exposed many of Feng Sheng's illegal acts.

So Zhu took back Feng Sheng's seal of general and demoted Chang Mao to Longzhou. Feng Sheng was suspected and Chang Mao died in Longzhou last year.

Zhu Yunhuan continued, "If my second brother is to be enthroned, my grandfather must first kill Lan Yu, the Duke of Liang, and then kill those Huaixi nobles. After they are almost all killed, my second brother will probably feel more at ease. Then we can recruit civil officials. Anyway, most of the military nobles have been killed, so the civil officials can just start to gain momentum!"

Old Zhu narrowed his eyes, feeling a little surprised and a little surprised. Some of his thoughts were actually guessed by this grandson who he had hardly paid attention to before. This insight was extraordinary!
I’m afraid Yunwen doesn’t have this kind of knowledge!

Zhu Yunhuan continued, "By then, there will be no generals in the court, and those corrupt scholars will be in charge of the country. If a war breaks out, will I still be able to survive?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was furious. He was really angry. "War? The Northern Yuan was driven to the northern desert by me! Luchuan surrendered! Yunnan and Guizhou were all recovered. Where did the war come from?"

Old Zhu, feeling angry, looked at the sword in his hand and threw it away.

While taking off his shoes, Lao Zhu questioned, "If you can't give me a clear answer today, I will beat you to death!"

"It's better to kill me, so I won't be imprisoned in Fengyang in the future!" Zhu Yunhuan was even more unconvinced. He was talking about history. "You really don't know what kind of person Yunwen is? They say he is gentle, elegant, honest and kind like my father. He has also read a lot of books. But he is just a sour scholar. He holds a copy of the Analects all day long and thinks he can rule the world and that Zhou Li is the way to universal peace."

Zhu Yunhuan continued to talk endlessly, "He has a system of laws and regulations, and is determined to restore the past. Is that the way to govern the country? He is indecisive, mean and unfeeling. If he becomes the emperor, will the uncles have a way to survive?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was furious and kicked Zhu Yunhuan over. "How dare you slander your brother like this, you bastard? How dare you kill your brother for the throne?"

Before Zhu Yunhuan could get up, Zhu Yuanzhang had already swung his shoe and hit him.

Old Zhu beat him and cursed, "Even if Yunwen is a bad person, he is kind and better than you! He is more filial than you, how could he let your uncle have no chance to live?"

Zhu Yunhuan struggled and shouted, "He is neither the eldest nor the legitimate son, so why can he bypass me? Even my second uncle, third uncle, and fourth uncle can be the emperor, but not him!"

Old Zhu put more force in his hands, "The throne can only be given to your father's branch!"

Zhu Yunhuan remained silent and stopped struggling. It was just a few hits on the buttocks. It was nothing.

As Lao Zhu was beating him, he suddenly felt grief-stricken. "Let me beat you to death, you unfilial son! You went to find your mother, leaving this mess to us! Let me beat you to death, you bastard!"

Zhu Yunhuan turned his head. The Hongwu Emperor, who had been tough all his life, now swung his shoes with all his strength, and tears as big as beans fell from his eyes.

Old Zhu didn't cry much in his life. He cried when his parents passed away, when his sister passed away, and when the crown prince passed away two months ago, the emperor cried.

Now while beating his grandson, the old man might still be thinking about his son!

(End of this chapter)