Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Zhu Yunhuan always felt that he would have to rely on his parents above and his son below in his life.

He knew very well how he got the position of Crown Prince. He gained the recognition through some of his own efforts, but more importantly, it was because his parents were Crown Prince Zhu Biao and Crown Princess Chang.

Now, if the normal procedure is followed, there seems to be no problem in inheriting the throne in the future. However, if you want to ascend to the throne earlier, you may have to rely on your son. If you have a son, everything will be easier.

If you think about it this way, it seems a bit aggrieved, but it’s not a big problem, as they are all good things anyway.

"Grandfather, now that Ren Hengtai is back, I will demote him to the position of Imperial Censor." Zhu Yunhuan did not forget his business and said, "He really went too far in Annan this time. It would be unreasonable if he was not punished."

Old Zhu was not joking and said seriously, "This man is well behaved in the capital, but he is not honest outside. In this life, we are afraid of some officials who are corrupt and abuse their power. They dare not mess around in front of us. But you also saw how good Ren Hengtai was when he was in the capital. Why is he like this now?"

"Those scholars are more anxious than us. The Ministry of Rites is full of hypocritical people." Zhu Yunhuan couldn't help but complain, "Think about it, the Minister of Rites didn't know etiquette before. Now it's better. The Minister of Rites should educate the world, but he can't control himself!"

Old Zhu said with great disdain, "That's the truth. When it comes to big principles, those people have one thing in mind. When it comes to advising us, they are all selfless and concerned about the country and the people. But when it comes to themselves, these people are ugly."

Zhu Yunhuan did not object to this statement. Although it was a bit extreme, there were too many such cases.

Not to mention the Donglin Party, there has never been a shortage of such scholars in every dynasty.

Old Zhu also became serious and asked, "Who do you think is the best person to be appointed as the Minister of Rites?"

Zhu Yunhuan was also a bit troubled. The court had finally managed to fill the six ministers. But now, the position of Minister of Rites was vacant again, and now he had to consider selecting another person.

"Men Kexin of the Zhanshi Mansion is not bad, but he is already in his seventies, too old." Zhu Yunhuan said, "I remember that Chen Di, the Right Governor of Yunnan, is not bad, or Lian Zining and Qi Tai, these two are quite talented."

Lao Zhu thought about it carefully and said, "Then don't rush to decide. Wait and see."

Zhu Yunhuan just smiled slightly at this. He believed that the selection of the Minister of Rites could be decided upon after a while and there was no need to decide on it in a hurry.

Anyway, even if the Minister of Rites is gone, there are still the left and right vice ministers who can take over the management of the Ministry of Rites. In the short term, the Ministry of Rites will not be in chaos and it will not affect the normal operation of the court.

The main reason is that they are used to it. They are used to the fact that there are often vacancies in the six ministries. Both the emperor and the officials are accustomed to this kind of situation, so everyone knows what to do.

Old Zhu smiled and reminded, "Earlier I was thinking of finding you a top scholar and training you well, but now it seems that the top scholar may not be reliable."

There is nothing wrong with this statement. After all, Ren Hengtai was the first person in the Ming Dynasty to be awarded an imperial archway by the emperor, and he was also the first civil servant to be assigned under Zhu Yunhuan.

The result, naturally, was that his bright future was ruined overnight. He could not blame anyone else for this at all. It was all his own fault.

It is estimated that in the next period of time, many officials will have various ideas in their minds. The position of Shangshu has been vacated. It would be a lie to say that they are not tempted.

There are many second-rank governors in the Five Military Commanderies, as well as first-rank and second-rank governors, not to mention the dukes and marquises of the highest rank.

But for the civil servants, the position of Shangshu of the second rank is already the limit of their official career, so of course they have some thoughts in their minds.

"I'm going to wait and see for a while. I don't understand many of the civil servants now." Zhu Yunhuan said to Old Zhu, "I still don't like civil servants to be all talk and no action. This is a good opportunity to go fishing."

Listening to Zhu Yunhuan's words, Old Zhu would only feel relieved. This is the quality that an emperor should have. He does not like the interests of his ministers fighting among themselves, nor would he be happy to see all the officials join hands.

It's not bad to use the position of Minister of Rites to fish and see what kind of character those civil servants have.

In particular, the southern civil servants in the court are more concentrated. Although they dare not have direct factions, there are still more or less some small organizations that are connected, both overtly and covertly.

Old Zhu smiled and said, "We should make a good distinction. We have been a little lax in our supervision of the civil servants in recent years."

Zhu Yunhuan nodded seriously. He also felt that Zhu's temper had improved a lot in recent years. At least the number of major cases against civil servants had decreased relatively a lot.

As for whether other scholars and civil servants would agree with this statement, Zhu Yunhuan didn't care.

Concubine Guo Ning came and said to Zhu Yunhuan after seeing him, "Your Highness, you should spend more time with the Crown Prince's Concubine these days. When a woman is pregnant, she has a lot on her mind."

Although there is no such thing as postpartum depression in this era, there is still a recognition that there will be various emotional instability during pregnancy, especially in some wealthy families. Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "Empress Ning, I just came here to talk now. I must go back to talk to Miao Jin and have dinner."

If someone had dared to drive away the Crown Prince in the past, Zhu Yuanzhang would certainly have been very angry. For him, the greatest relaxation of the day was actually to have a meal with his grandson and talk about family matters or court matters.

But although Old Zhu is still reluctant to let his grandson leave, as long as he thinks of the temptation of his great-grandson, there is nothing he cannot accept.

Zhu Yunhuan said, "Your Majesty, in a few days, the princes of the royal family should come to the capital to pay homage, and you will have to do some things for them."

Although several princes in the north were on military campaigns, other princes still had to come to Beijing for an audience with the emperor. This was also a practice in the Ming Dynasty, except that this year it started with Prince of Chu Zhu Zhen.

Concubine Guo Ning smiled and said, "It's not a big deal. Don't worry, Grand Prince. I will definitely not trouble you."

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Old Zhu and asked, "During the ploughing ceremony, I will lead the ox and you will hold the plow. Normally, Miao Jin should have gone with us. What should we do now?"

The ploughing ceremony is no small matter. It starts in the middle of spring every year. It is also one of the representative activities of encouraging farmers to cultivate their crops. In the past, Zhu always did it himself, not just for show.

Ministers watched the ceremony and members of the royal family also had to go to the fields. The imperial fields were "one acre and three mu of land". The harvested grains were to be used to offer sacrifices to heaven, earth and the country. This was a big deal.

In the past few years, it was Old Zhu who took Zhu Yunxun with him, and the grandfather and grandson were busy. There was no housewife, so there were fewer procedures, etc.

I originally thought that Xu Miaojin would come forward this year, and there was no reason for her not to participate, especially since this was her first time to participate in farming as the Crown Prince's Consort, so the significance was naturally more unusual.

Old Zhu said without thinking, "If Miao Jin doesn't go, normally the ministers and ladies have to watch the ceremony and stand for an hour or two. We, the royal family, have to work in the fields, so how can we tire our granddaughter-in-law!"

The emperor and the crown prince personally ploughed the field, and all civil and military officials had to watch the ceremony, and if they were lucky they would be called to help.

Old Zhu also understood some of Zhu Yunhuan's concerns. The simple fact was that if Xu Miaojin was absent, it would definitely be a bit unpleasant. In an era based on agriculture, encouraging people to engage in farming and sericulture was something that the rulers had to pay attention to.

Even if it's just some ritualistic things, we can't just ignore the surface at this time, otherwise it will be too embarrassing.

"Send someone to announce the good news in a few days. This is a big deal." Old Zhu thought about it carefully and said, "I think it will be difficult to conceal it any longer."

Zhu Yunhuan did not object to this statement. Some things could be kept secret in the palace. But it was not easy to keep some things secret completely.

For example, in the current Imperial Medical Service, many imperial doctors know the situation well, and they dare not speak carelessly, but many signs have been noticed by some ministers.

Now everyone is busy searching the world for a midwife with excellent skills and safe delivery. The emperor and the crown prince, who used to not like extravagance, are also looking for some good things that can calm the mind and protect the fetus, and they welcome everyone who comes.

Under such circumstances, if some people still can't see some clues, it is obviously a bit unreasonable. Don't underestimate the cleverness of some shrewd people in the court.

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "That's right. This is a happy event, so there's no need to hide too much."

Since it is a happy event, we cannot say that it is a universal celebration, as we have not yet reached that level. But there is obviously nothing wrong with a little joy and celebration.

Given the peasant nature of Zhu Yuanzhang, under normal circumstances no one would be able to miss the ploughing ceremony, not even the crown prince Zhu Yunhuan.

However, this is a different time. Compared with the ceremony of personally tilling the field, his beloved great-grandson is obviously the most important.

It doesn't matter if Xu Miaojin doesn't participate in the ploughing ceremony. Not only can Zhu Yuanzhang fully understand this matter, but all the civil and military officials in the court will also be able to understand it.

This is a truly happy event, and it is good news for the entire Ming Dynasty. It is no exaggeration to say that as long as Xu Miaojin gives birth to a boy, he will be the foundation of the Ming Dynasty. The significance of this is extraordinary.

Zhu Yunhuan walked with ease, which could be regarded as a sign of being in high spirits when good things happen. Even though some things did not seem to be going smoothly, it did not affect his good mood during this period.

Seeing Zhu Yunhuan coming back, Xu Miaojin stood up with a smile, "Your Highness, why did you come back at this time? Why don't you stay to have dinner with the Emperor?"

"Never mind him, let's eat." Zhu Yunxun said with a smile, "Zhang Fusheng, get moving, serve the food!" (End of this chapter)