Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Chapter 21: Retaliation is inevitable
Lao Zhu can be ruthless when dealing with enemies, subordinates, and even former friends.

Zhu Yuanzhang could not tolerate any corrupt officials and his methods of dealing with them were ruthless and cruel.

But Zhu treated his descendants too well. In addition to providing extremely generous support to the royal family, he could also make light of the crimes of some of his descendants, even if they were unjust or cruel.

Therefore, even though Zhu Yunwen was clever and did some clever tricks, Zhu would not be really angry. He might even think that his grandson had some abilities.

It is advisable that you can make a fuss about a small thing and show your strengths.

As an elder brother, he should care for his younger brothers. This is what Zhu Biao has always taught him. Zhu Biao did a great job in this regard. He has always been taking care of his younger brothers.

Zhu Yunwen was very smart. He knew how to cater to the emperor's interests and knew that if he wanted to learn from his father, there were many things worth learning.

Zhu Yunhuan was also very smart. He didn't think Zhu Yunwen did anything wrong. If you don't show your strengths when you have the chance, you're a fool. Especially at the moment of the fight for the throne, any opportunity to show your strengths should not be missed.

It’s just that Zhu Yunwen was a little petty and couldn’t be presentable.

Old Zhu looked at Zhu Yunhuan and said, "You should also go to the East Palace later. Old Five is your brother after all. It would have been fine if you didn't know about it before, but now that you know about it, you will definitely go there."

Zhu Yunhuan understood this truth. "Then I must go. Otherwise, someone might impeach me again at the court tomorrow morning. Brothers should be friendly and younger brothers should be respectful. As an elder brother, I am not friendly. No one cares whether my younger brothers are respectful or not."

"People who achieve great things don't care about small details. If they achieve great things, who will care about you?" Old Zhu said with a smile, "Yun Wen is filial, but he is a little petty."

Zhu Yunhuan took the opportunity to sneer, "It's not his mother who taught him that! He has long hair but little knowledge, and is too soft-hearted!"

Old Zhu looked at Zhu Yunhuan and said, "I don't want to beat you again today! Remember your father's lesson!"

Zhu Yunhuan immediately understood that Lu was the Crown Princess, and this status could not be changed. Even if Zhu Biao was as favored as he was, he had to mourn for Zhu's favorite concubine, Concubine Sun Guifei, and Empress Ma was still alive at that time!
Old Zhu attached great importance to these matters. His concubines and so on were also the elders of the princes and grandchildren!

Zhu Yunhuan suddenly asked, "My father is about to be buried, why haven't the uncles come back?"

Old Zhu immediately looked at Zhu Yunhuan and asked, "Isn't your uncle in Beijing?"

Old Zhu now has 25 sons, and maybe he will have another one next year or the year after. He also has 15 daughters now, and Old Zhu, who is still strong and healthy, may give Zhu Yunhuan another aunt in two years.

Iron men are no joke. They deal with state affairs day and night, and even when they have time, they still give birth to sons and daughters. Even if you are over 60, it doesn't mean you can't have children.

If he had not suffered so much in his youth, if he had not suffered some hidden injuries from fighting in his early years, if he had not worked diligently in governing the country in recent years, and if he had not suffered the successive blows of losing his loved ones, it is possible that Zhu Yuanzhang could live to be a hundred years old.

I am in such good health, I can’t help but admit it!
Zhu Yunhuan said, "There's no need to mention those in Beijing. Aren't my second uncle and his family in their fiefdom?"

Zhu Yunxun continued, "Second Uncle and Third Uncle have been protected by my father for a long time. It would be bad if the imperial uncles don't come back to see him off for his burial. He has been protecting his brothers all his life, and we can't let him go without peace of mind."

Old Zhu stared at Zhu Yunhuan and asked, "Do you really not understand or are you pretending not to understand? Your father is gone, and now the position of crown prince is vacant. These days, many people have proposed to establish a prince, saying that the emperor's grandson is young. If your second uncle comes back, what will you do?"

"Second uncle is back. He will pay respects and then go back, right?" Zhu Yunhuan looked at Old Zhu and said, "Second uncle and third uncle, even if they have committed crimes in their fiefdoms, they will not dare to breathe when they see you."

Old Zhu suddenly laughed and said, "I'm afraid your father didn't tell you everything!"

Old Zhu became serious and said, "Your second uncle is only one year younger than your father, and he was also a smart kid when he was young. Why did he become so cruel and unjust when he grew up? Why do you think it was?"

Old Zhu spoke slowly, "He hates us and blames your father. Do you know that?"

As the second son of the emperor and the eldest of the kings, Qin Wang Zhu Chong naturally had an extraordinary status. However, he had always felt his parents' partiality since he was a child, and they chose to marry him a Mongolian woman. All of this was a suppression of him and completely blocked his inappropriate thoughts.

So sometimes, he would deliberately vent his anger and make Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao uncomfortable. This was just like a childish sulking!

Children who don't cry or make a fuss don't get noticed! Looking at Zhu Yunhuan who seemed to be thinking, Old Zhu asked again, "Do you still want your second uncle and third uncle to return to Beijing?"

"Why not?" Zhu Yunhuan still insisted on his point of view, "No matter what, I have to see him off for the last time, otherwise my father will not be at peace, and the uncles will not be happy either."

Seeing that Zhu Yunhuan did not look unwilling, Old Zhu continued, "Now that you and Yunwen are fighting, the court is very strange. If your uncles come back, the fight for the crown prince will be even more difficult!"

Zhu Yunxun smiled and said, "The uncles are back, and they will go back after seeing my father off. The throne is still being fought over by Yunwen and me, so it doesn't matter."

Zhu Yunxun continued, "Call them back. Call back those who can. You haven't seen them for a long time."

Zhu fell silent. As the emperor, it was difficult for him to see his sons. Seeing them once a year was a luxury.

Especially the tenth brother Zhu Tan, who had taken drugs for a long time and died at the age of twenty-one.

Two years ago, the old Batan King Zhu Zi committed suicide by burning himself because he was afraid of being implicated in the Hu Weiyong case, and he didn't even leave any offspring.

Now that his beloved eldest son is gone, this is the third time that Mr. Zhu has seen someone die before him.

Zhu Yuanzhang was not someone who could be persuaded by a few words in order to achieve his ambitions in a chaotic world. "It's already chaotic enough. If they come back and refuse to leave the capital and collude with the civil officials and nobles, what do you want us to do?"

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said to Old Zhu, "By the way, take a look at the methods and abilities of Yunwen and me! Who between Yunwen and me can protect the country, just wait and see. Whether I can calm down the uncles and make the nobles submit, isn't that what I'm afraid of?"

Old Zhu suddenly laughed and said to Zhu Yunwen, "What an ambitious man! If Yunwen had half of your ambition, we would make him the emperor no matter how much trouble you make!"

Zhu Yunxun immediately cried, "Don't let him know this, or you'll see him speaking better than me tomorrow! My second brother may not be good at other things, but he is good at learning some basic skills."

Old Zhu laughed in silence, "You are really vindictive!"

However, Zhu also thought that what Zhu Yunwen said was good, and Yunwen seemed to have learned it well. However, what the child learned was just the superficial kindness and filial piety, and Yunwen really did not learn the ruthlessness and decisiveness of the eldest brother.

Old Zhu looked at Zhu Yunhuan and asked again, "Are you really going to let your uncles come back?"

Zhu Yunhuan nodded, very sure, "They must come back. It is reasonable for them to come back."

Old Zhu suddenly smiled and said, "Let's issue an order to have your uncles come back tomorrow. Yun Wen will definitely hate you even more!"

"He can hate me as much as he wants, I don't care." Zhu Yunhuan said with a smile, "He and I have come to this point, it would be strange if he didn't blame me. I thought that when I become the emperor, I will find him a safe and prosperous place to be a vassal. Even if he keeps complaining, I won't argue with him. A scholar's rebellion will not succeed in three years!"

Old Zhu looked at Zhu Yunhuan, and Zhu Yunhuan's gaze did not avoid him.

After a moment, Old Zhu said with a smile, "After all, he is the eldest son's son, so he has a broad mind and a broad mind. I don't want anything else, but I don't want to see our Zhu family killing each other. Just remember, don't say one thing and do another."

"That's not the case. I can say it and I can do it." Zhu Yunhuan continued to flatter him, "Yunwen's words sound good, but his actions are another matter. He is guilty, he is afraid of the emperor's uncle and me, but I am not."

Lao Zhu nodded and then asked, "Would you like to stay here for dinner?"

Zhu Yunhuan thought for a moment, then said with a wicked smile, "Then I'll stay here for dinner, and I'll let the East Palace know right away. They make me uncomfortable, so I'll make them uncomfortable too."

Old Zhu was so angry, "You, you! Stay and have dinner, if you keep talking, get out!"

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(End of this chapter)