Daming: I am the Crown Prince

It is close to Yingtian Prefecture, which has the advantage that it is convenient to come back.

Zhu Chong returned to Yingtian Prefecture excitedly. After the worship in Fengxian Hall, he was stunned, "Where is the crown prince?"

A young eunuch immediately replied, "Your Highness the Prince of Qin, His Highness the Crown Prince went to the Eastern Tomb today to pay homage to the late Crown Prince and the late Crown Princess."

Zhu Chong was silent for a moment before asking, "Then where should I go?"

The normal procedure is that the princes go to Fengxian Temple to pay homage when they return to Beijing. In the past, when the eldest brother was around, it was always the eldest brother who came forward. In recent years, it has been the eldest nephew who has come forward, so we are used to it.

As for the emperor, after so many years, unless something big happens, it is not particularly likely that Zhu Chong and others will come back and want to see him.

The young eunuch replied, "Your Majesty is in Wuying Palace."

Zhu Chong went to Wuying Hall and knelt down, "I, your son Zhu Chong, kowtow to your father, the emperor. Long live your majesty."

Old Zhu nodded and then said, "Do you know where your nephew went?"

"I know." Zhu Chong stood up and said, "It is said that Yunxun has never celebrated his birthday in all these years. In the past, he could still say that he was in mourning. He is getting married this year, but he is not celebrating his birthday either?"

"But." Old Zhu said with great distress, "Yun Hu is too filial. We originally wanted to have a grand wedding. But he didn't want to do it. He just wanted to have a family dinner. He went to Dongling before dawn to see his parents and said he had to go and tell them that he was going to get married."

Zhu Chong was silent for a long time before he said, "Well, it's good that Yunxun is filial, but it's hard for the child."

"What can we do?" Lao Zhu said, "We can only follow his lead. If we say too much, he might be unhappy."

Zhu Chong felt sour in his heart. His father was such a domineering person, and he had made many arrangements for his children and grandchildren. They always did things according to his requirements, and they never dared to say no.

But now, I am still worried that my grandson will be unhappy. Where can I go to seek justice?

Zhu Chong suppressed his sour emotions and asked, "What should we do? He will be getting married in two days."

"Do as we agreed before." Old Zhu said directly, "It is because you are here that I let you, my second uncle, be the master of ceremonies. You will return to Xi'an after Yunhuan's wedding. Don't cause any more trouble for us this time!"

Zhu Chong said somewhat unhappily, "Father, it's already November, and it's almost the twelfth lunar month, and you still want me to go back? Why don't we wait until after the Chinese New Year? There's no rush in this month."

"Second son," Old Zhu sighed and said, "I want you to stay by my side too. My sons haven't been around for so many years, and I'm afraid I'll see them less. This year is different. Yunhuan is getting married, and many things have to follow the rules."

Zhu Chong did not say anything. Even if he wanted to stay in Yingtian Prefecture, he could not. Even if he had no desire for the throne, as long as he was in Yingtian Prefecture, some people might have wild thoughts.

"Take Fu Youde with you. We'll need troops next year." Old Zhu started to speak. "After the spring of next year, the third and fourth brothers will go out to fight. You keep an eye on those two bastards!"

Zhu Chong's heart tightened, and he asked quickly, "Father, you don't want to let the Duke of Ying go there too, right? These are just some small tribes. Besides, Fu Youde hasn't fought a war for several years."

"Wu Yuan's affairs are almost done. He has enjoyed a few years of happiness and is in good health." Old Zhu said seriously, "Remember this, we must not only win the battle next year, but win it big! If you don't do well, you brothers will forget about entering the capital!"

Zhu Chong said quickly, "Father, that's not the case!"

"Not really?" Old Zhu looked at Zhu Chong calmly, "Can a new emperor be defeated?"

Zhu Chong was startled and quickly knelt down and asked carefully, "Father, your Majesty is in good health, how can you mention the new emperor?"

"That's not your business!" Old Zhu said directly, "You uncles, work hard for me. If you can't fight well, Yun Hun will not punish you. We will do it! When you leave, we will give you a few letters to take to your brothers. Your eldest brother protected you when he was here, and Yun Hun has also been protecting you. If you don't know what's good for you, don't blame us for being cruel!"

Zhu Chong didn't dare to say anything more at this time, and he was extremely nervous.

If they really return to Xi'an, they will immediately start preparing for war. If the third and fourth sons dare to mess around because of some grudges, there is no need for the emperor to enforce the family law. Zhu Chong will not indulge the two princes of the royal family who seem to be quite trusted!
The situation next year will be special. It seems that my father has already made some decisions and no one can persuade him otherwise.

Old Zhu looked at Zhu Chong and asked, "Can you keep this from Yun Hun?"

"Father, I know my limits." Zhu Chong said confidently, "To be honest, when I came back that year, I looked down on Yun Hun a little. It was during these two years that I felt a little scared. It was my elder brother who taught me well. Yun Hun learned from my elder brother."

Old Zhu immediately laughed and said, "When the eldest brother was here, you were the one he loved the most. You can see clearly that Yunxun and his father are exactly the same in nature."

Zhu Chong started talking about family matters and said, "That's true. Yun Hu has been steady in his work over the past two or three years, but he has also made many changes. He has not changed the overall situation, but has started with small things and then made changes little by little. He knows that his father trusts him, so he is generous in his actions and never hides anything."

"Take the Zhongdu Resident Office for example. I also went to take a look." Zhu Chong said with some amusement, "All of them are nobles, all of them are from Huaixi and foreign relatives. If you think about it carefully, they are all from the Prince's Mansion!"

Old Zhu immediately smiled and said, "Go to the Beijing Army and see, it's even more true. They have the same bad character as your elder brother, saying that being a crown prince is the best, and they don't interfere with the six ministries or the five military governors. It would be great if they really didn't interfere. Now go and see, the six ministers of the six ministries are their people, and the five military governors are also their people."

Zhu Chong just smiled. His father could complain with a smile because he was happy and was deliberately speaking in a sarcastic way. If he followed suit, his father would immediately change his face and scold him without any hesitation.

Old Zhu continued, "There are some things we won't tell others. You are the second oldest, the oldest among them. I've often asked you and the fifth oldest to come to Beijing over the past two years so that you know that we are living comfortably, so that you won't have any wild thoughts in the future."

Zhu Chong hurriedly said, "Father, I am wise and I would never dare to do that."

"I am afraid, too. I am afraid that Yun Hun will be slandered." Old Zhu said frankly, "I am not as confident as before. After your elder brother passed away, I lost most of my confidence. I was holding on because I was afraid that Yun Hun would not be able to maintain his throne. Now that he has achieved such success, I feel relieved."

Zhu Chong said with some sorrow, "Father, it is not necessary to be like this! I am still here!"

Old Zhu looked at Zhu Chong with a kind smile on his face, "We have many sons, and we like you guys too. Second son, it's not that your father is partial, I have no choice."

This seems to be the truth. If Zhu Yuanzhang favored Zhu Chong and others, he might face problems such as succession seizure and fighting among his descendants. Zhu Yuanzhang was most proud of the fact that there was no problem with his succession. On the surface, the brothers were very friendly and respectful to each other, and the other descendants did not dare to have any unreasonable thoughts about the position of crown prince.

But to say that it was simply because of the fear of suspicion between father and son, or sibling rivalry, is too optimistic. In the final analysis, it is still biased, biased beyond measure.

"Yun Hun is very wise, and he is of the right age now." Old Zhu closed his eyes and said lazily, "I am just afraid that if I leave without saying goodbye, he will really have no one to talk to."

Zhu Chong said quickly, "Not really. Yunxun and his two sisters support each other and have a very good relationship. Why is no one saying anything?"

"We know what they are like." Old Zhu snorted coldly. He still looked down on Zhu Yourong and Zhu Youling. "If they were really capable and smart, they wouldn't have made Yunxun a laughing stock for more than ten years!"

Zhu Chong was suddenly speechless and really didn't know what to say.

Old Zhu continued, "We can hold on as long as we can, and forget it if we can't. We just want to have a great-grandson. When we meet your mother, your eldest brother and his wife, we can give them an explanation."

"My elder brother and his wife will surely be pleased that Yun Hun has made such a great progress," Zhu Chong advised. "My mother will surely be happy too. It is said that Yun Hun was her favorite in her early years."

"You like Yunxun the most?" Old Zhu said self-deprecatingly, "Without his mother's child, his father took his anger out on him. At that time, your mother and I only had Xiongying in our eyes. You say that our grandson is protecting you and his brothers and sisters now, isn't it just because he didn't have anyone close to him when he was a child?"

Zhu Chong didn't dare to respond immediately. In fact, these older princes knew a lot of things.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma only had their eldest grandson in their eyes, and the uncles were the same, they only had their eyes on the real nephew. Zhu Yunhuan was completely invisible.

It's simply that Zhu Yunhuan is now the crown prince, so many things are imposed on him to make his position more stable and his succession to the throne more legitimate.

"Second brother, if any of you dare not handle this matter well, we will punish you." Old Zhu narrowed his eyes and said, "Your eldest brother has protected you all your life, so don't hold him back at this time."

Zhu Chong broke out in a cold sweat, he knew that Old Zhu was serious and sending troops to fight next year was not just talk.

That was the last military strategic arrangement made by the founding Emperor Hongwu for his grandson. Anyone who dared not to do his best would be making an enemy of the Hongwu Emperor!

In history, Zhu Yunhuan also married the daughter of Zhao Sili, the military commander, in November of the 28th year of Hongwu. In the same year as Zhu Yunwen, they also waited until Zhu Biao's mourning period was over before getting married.

But this time it’s a little different, that is, the identity and the candidates are different.

When Zhu Yunhuan and his entourage arrived at Eastern Tomb, there were actually quite a few of them, and they were relatively well-organized.

Zhu Yourong and Zhu Youling came with them, and Geng Xuan and Zhang Fu, who had just returned from the expedition, came with them. Xu Miaojin was also called over by Zhu Yunhuan.

As for Zhu Yunxi and the others, they did not come because there was no need to come.

Chang Sheng is naturally the best candidate for a bodyguard. Some things are less of a worry for family members, and he will do his best in many things instead of simply thinking of it as a chore.

Geng Xuan and Zhang Fu naturally did not dare to be careless. Being able to come and pay homage to the late Crown Prince and the late Crown Princess was in itself an affirmation for them, although it was more of an affirmation of their status.

After the worship in the Xian Hall, Zhu Yunhuan looked carefully and said, "Okay, we young people will go to cultivate the soil and weed."

Although Zhu Yunhuan is the younger brother, among this group of people, his words carry the most weight, and he is the one who arranges many things.

The tomb of Zhu Biao and Chang is naturally not just a small mound of earth. The Xiaoling Guards and the government office responsible for cleaning would naturally not dare to be careless and take care of it carefully.

However, as children, we cannot just burn incense and kowtow at this time. There are other things we need to do.

Zhu Yourong and Zhu Youling both tacitly kept silent about Zhu Yunhuan's habit of sitting in front of the tombstone. Geng Xuan also knew something about this before, so she just did what she was supposed to do.

Zhang Fu, who came here for the first time, was even more cautious. He just followed Geng Xuan and did whatever others did. Not making mistakes was the greatest success.

Xu Miaojin thought for a moment and gently advised, "Your Highness, your mother will surely be pleased to see your coming of age and your wedding."

Zhu Yunhuan turned his head and looked at Xu Miaojin, saying, "That's true. I am not a child anymore. I just came here to tell them that I have grown up and will marry and have children. They should be relieved."

Many officials commented on Zhu Yunhuan, the Crown Prince, as a person of utmost purity and filial piety. Such excellent qualities naturally need to be constantly praised.

Zhu Yunhuan was sometimes in a trance. It was not because he was too immersed in the role. It was because he understood that if he did some things with his identity, the effect would be more than twice the result with half the effort.

Emperor Ming of Han can be said to be an extremely accomplished emperor in history. He was strict in his administration, held all power in his hands, strictly prohibited external relatives from interfering in government affairs, and weakened the power of meritorious officials. During his reign, the country was stable, the people were at peace and at work, the population grew, and the barbarians were submissive. People of his time praised the Han Dynasty as "the glorious and prosperous Han."

However, in the history books, there is also a very important and constantly praised passage: "In the first month of the seventeenth year, when I was visiting Yuanling, I dreamed that the late emperor and the empress dowager were as happy as usual. When I woke up, I was so sad that I couldn't sleep."

In his dreams, the emperor, who is nearly fifty years old, is still just a naive child enjoying the love of his parents. Who can say that there is little human warmth in the imperial family?

After the worship, Zhu Yunhuan looked at Zhu Yourong and said, "Tomorrow is my birthday, so let's get together as a family. Come here early with my brother-in-law, and bring my grandmother and my second aunt over first."

Zhu Yourong said, "I see. Just keep it the same as before."

Zhu Yunxun smiled and said, "Of course, I can't control what will happen in the future. It would be best if we can celebrate our birthdays together as a family, but I'm afraid it will be difficult to do so in the future."

Zhu Youling wiped away his tears and said, "Little brother, no matter what, from now on, whenever it's your birthday, I will go to the palace to celebrate it with you. I can't leave you alone."

Zhu Yourong laughed and joked, "Why do you need to worry too much! On your birthday next year, you might get annoyed when you see us! With Miaojin and my nephew, why do you need to meddle in other people's business!" (End of this chapter)