Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Zhu Yunhuan was not particularly surprised that Zhu Yuanzhang allowed the withdrawal of 30,000 troops.

Zhu Yunhuan would certainly agree that Zhu was a frugal person. But Zhu also had some universal values ​​today, and he attached great importance to the imperial mausoleum, which was also very normal. This was a huge project and the dignity of the dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang naturally attached great importance to the Xiaoling Mausoleum, which is also a major project that the Ming Dynasty is currently carrying out.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang was also a pragmatist, knowing that the court had a lot of things to do, so it was no problem to keep enough craftsmen to continue to maintain and build the Xiaoling Mausoleum and transfer a group of laborers.

"Grandfather, I've thought about it carefully. After this year's battle, there won't be any major wars in the next few years." Zhu Yunhuan said, "Thinking about it carefully, maybe we just need to guard against rebellion."

Old Zhu was thinking the same thing. "That's true. There are only a few rebellions now. Most of them are in the southwest. The court will have to leave some troops, but most of them can be suppressed by the local garrisons."

Zhu Yunhuan said in agreement, "It seems that there are basically no internal or external troubles now. The civil service was rectified a few years ago, and it is now relatively clean. The power of the nobles has been taken back, and the remnants of the Mongols and Yuan Dynasty are unlikely to become powerful. Domestic affairs are the most important in the past few years, and people's livelihood is the most important."

Old Zhu said with relief, "Just do as you wish. We don't have the energy to think about those things now."

In the first ten or twenty years after the founding of the country, the imperial court had to deal with a lot of things.

They had to worry about a Mongolian counterattack, the influence of separatist forces, and they also had to digest some officials left over from the Yuan Dynasty.

The imperial court at that time naturally needed to pay attention to people's livelihood and consider recuperation, but it was also unable to completely free up its hands to concentrate its efforts on doing something big.

But the situation is a little better now. The country has been founded for nearly 30 years, and most of the hidden dangers and contradictions have been resolved. The national strength is also relatively strong, so we can naturally consider other things.

Developing people's livelihood and making the Ming Dynasty more prosperous and powerful can naturally be put on the agenda at this time. These are not trivial matters.

Zhu Yunhuan joked, "Grandfather, it's not possible now. Some things still need the Emperor to intervene. My words are useless as the Crown Prince."

Old Zhu was not fooled and said directly, "If that's the case, then you, the Crown Prince, are useless. We let you handle all matters in the court, big or small, and you still can't make decisions, then you are useless."

Zhu Yunhuan suddenly felt that the food in his hand no longer tasted good. Before he could say anything, Old Zhu interrupted him without giving him any chance at all.

Old Zhu looked at Zhu Yunhuan jokingly and said, "Do you want me to set a law for you that will last forever? Then you can follow it and you will definitely be able to keep your country."

Zhu Yunhuan was speechless for a moment, and decisively refused, "No need, I will definitely abide by the rules that should be followed, forget about the law of eternity!"

The truth is that Zhu Yunhuan didn't dare to joke about this matter. As long as he dared to let go, Zhu Yunhuan would immediately take out the eternal law that he had carefully prepared for a long time. There was no doubt about this at all.

Old Zhu was a little angry, "You think so little of me? If I don't have some ability, how can I conquer the country? With your ability, you are not even good enough to lead my horse and hold the stirrups!"

"Grandfather, I have to admit this. If it were really a chaotic time, I wouldn't know if I could survive." Zhu Yunhuan also said seriously, "But the law of eternity really doesn't work. Times have changed, how can it remain unchanged?"

Zhu Yunhuan knew Zhu Yuanzhang's character. To be able to rise from a commoner to become the founding emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang must be an extremely confident person who would not doubt his own abilities at all.

He also considered the problem of future generations not being capable enough, so he formulated a "law for all ages". In Zhu's view, they could naturally keep their country by following the law.

"Huang Ming Zu Xun" is an example. Zhu Yuanzhang set rules for food, clothing, housing, transportation, etc. He even considered and set rules for how future generations should address the emperor and empress.

It is indeed correct to set rules at the beginning for some things, but if you come up with a rule that will last forever, that won’t work. That would be putting people in shackles.

Old Zhu was not angry, and said directly, "If you want to change some things, we will let you do it. If it really comes to that, we won't know it even if we are buried in the ground. The good thing about you is that you dare to say it to my face, and you won't say one thing in front of me and another behind my back."

Zhu Yunhuan said, "Grandfather, don't worry. There are some iron rules that must be followed. I know my limits and won't do anything reckless."

"You are now dredging the canal, building the city and setting up defenses. I am happy to see these things." Old Zhu said, "The only bad thing is that you have spent a lot of money on the navy."

Old Zhu knew all about Zhu Yunhuan's actions over the years. He was also anxious about some things, such as Zhu Yunhuan's emphasis on the navy, which made Old Zhu unable to bear it.

"Isn't this just to make more money and make the Ming Dynasty richer?" Zhu Yunhuan did not hide it. "Don't mention anything else. The Song Dynasty and the Mongols made a lot of money by going out to sea. Of course I want to make some too."

Seeing that Old Zhu was about to speak, Zhu Yunhuan spoke first, "I also know that my grandfather is worried about the Japanese pirates, and I will not let this matter go. When the navy becomes stronger, the first thing I will do is to fight the Japanese pirates. This year, I will set some rules for dealing with the Japanese pirates." Old Zhu immediately asked with interest, "Tell me, how are you going to set the rules?"

"Isn't it the reward for capturing the Japanese pirates?" Zhu Yunhuan said, "If it is the real Japanese, I will set the same rules as the Northern Pirates. The rewards for the generals and soldiers will also be different."

Hearing Zhu Yunhuan say this, Old Zhu was quite satisfied, "That's right, these Japanese pirates are also a serious threat to us."

The requirements for military merit in the Ming Dynasty were different. The rewards for pacifying rioters and separatist forces were different. If you killed Tartars or Japanese pirates, the reward would be higher.

Zhu Yuanzhang's ban on sea trade was largely due to the rampant Japanese pirates. However, Zhu Yuanzhang's ban on sea trade was not a complete ban on "no ship allowed to go to sea". Some tributes and so on still existed, but it only restricted the people from going to sea.

As for maritime trade and so on, Lao Zhu also strictly guarded against it, and the scale of maritime trade was pitifully small.

Old Zhu stared at Zhu Yunhuan and said seriously, "Then you should work harder in the next two years. We'll let you do whatever you want now. If you really can't accomplish anything in the next two years, don't blame me for saying it in advance. Even if you're unhappy at that time, we'll set a rule before we die!"

Zhu Yunhuan felt some pressure instantly. This was also the "ultimatum" given to him by Old Zhu, or it could be said that this was a test. If he passed it, he would naturally be allowed to continue trying sea trade and so on.

If the experiment failed without any results, or even some losses, Zhu meant to make it an iron rule. At that time, even if Zhu Yunhuan wanted to reopen the sea trade, the resistance he encountered would be more than a little bit.

Although there is pressure, Zhu Yunhuan is also confident. "I originally planned to prepare for the next two years. I think there shouldn't be any big problems."

Old Zhu was annoyed. "Yes, you have subsidized the shipyard a lot these days. All the new large ships have been taken away by you. It's ok that there are many people in the navy, but your uncle has also arrested many people in Fujian and Guangdong, right?"

Zhu Yunxun said somewhat lacking confidence, "It shouldn't be like this. My third uncle didn't arrest many people."

"You didn't catch many people?" Old Zhu was even more rude to Zhu Yunhuan who was pretending to be stupid. "If you hadn't caught some sea merchants, we would have dealt with you a long time ago."

Chang Sen also did a lot of things in Fujian and Guangdong, and hired some people in a reasonable and orderly manner, such as shipwrights, sailors, etc. However, he also arrested a lot of people, such as merchants who had gone out to sea.

These people were all carrying out Zhu Yunhuan's orders and were also preparing for going to sea.

There is no need to worry about causing unrest, as not everyone goes out to sea. Moreover, according to the current laws of the Ming Dynasty, going out to sea without permission is illegal, and arresting people is to maintain the legal system of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yunhuan would definitely push forward things like opening up the sea, as he thought that the foundation was pretty good now.

Perhaps it is time to start some small-scale experiments. The first large-scale voyage will involve hundreds of ships, countless supplies, etc., which is obviously unlikely.

The most important thing is that even if such a voyage has certain political significance, it is definitely not just to promote national prestige. Making money is obviously what Zhu Yunhuan cares more about, and he must make more money.

Gain more benefits for the Ming Dynasty, expand the scale after proving profitability, and make more money.

This is also a virtuous cycle, rather than the current situation where it is simply the personal will of Zhu Yunhuan, the crown prince.

After having dinner and talking about business with Old Zhu, Zhu Yunhuan returned to Wenhua Hall. "The matter of Yan Zhenzhi has been settled. You should arrange to report and hand over the person."

Daoyan immediately took note of it. As a Palace Scholar, he was acting more and more like Zhu Yunhuan's secretary and advisor. Xia Yuanji, as a Palace Scholar, was Zhu Yunhuan's financial advisor, specializing in doing some things.

Daoyan didn't find it strange at all that Zhu Yunhuan was able to get an imperial decree from the emperor.

This was not only because the crown prince was favored, but also because Daoyan and others knew more or less about the emperor's temper and ambitions.

Let's get some things done now. Now that things have been decided, we need to push them forward and implement them quickly.

Whether it is the emperor or the grandson, they all like ministers who can do things. Daoyan and others know this better! Only with sufficient ability can one gain a firm foothold in the court of the Ming Dynasty!
Zhu Yunhuan continued to review memorials at his desk. This was his job. Now he had to focus more on domestic affairs and people's livelihood, which should not be underestimated. The pressure and challenges were not small.

If you want to do something well, you can't just talk about it. (End of this chapter)