Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Zhu Yunhuan didn't care about small tests at all, and they were really nothing.

The throne is different after all. Even if Zhu feels that the time is ripe, he still needs to understand Zhu Yunhuan's thoughts. Sometimes he also feels that Zhu Yunhuan is not honest, so it is normal to let people around him test him a little.

Zhu Yunhuan is actually in a similar situation, even though he feels that his position as the crown prince is very stable. But he can't be too anxious, and sometimes he even has to shirk his responsibilities, which is a normal process.

Be it the ploughing ceremony, the formal demotion of Ren Hengtai, or the Ministry of Works recruiting some craftsmen, etc., these matters were proceeding in an orderly manner.

As long as the general direction of these things is determined and as long as Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Yunhuan reach a consensus, there is nothing to worry about many things. The officials of the Ming Dynasty are still very capable of execution.

The days passed by little by little, and Zhu Yunhuan also felt that many things were going smoothly now and he didn't have to worry too much.

For Zhu Yunhuan, these recent days seem to be going quite smoothly.

Old Zhu was even happier. After a busy day, his grandson didn't come over for dinner. He was planning to return to the old routine. Eating alone was no big deal for Old Zhu.

However, when he saw Zhu Yunhuan supporting Xu Miaojin and walking over, Old Zhu quickly stood up.

"Oh, Miaojin should rest more now!" Old Zhu was anxious and jumped up and down, "Don't move too much, just rest and take care of yourself!"

Zhu Yunhuan said nonchalantly, "Miao Jin hasn't been resting well these days, so she should move around a bit. Otherwise, it's not good to just rest and recuperate."

It is a common perception in this day and age that women should rest peacefully after becoming pregnant. Some people think that staying still if possible is the safest way.

Xu Miaojin also smiled and said to Old Zhu, "Grandfather, my granddaughter-in-law also wants to move around. If she doesn't move all day, she will feel very tired and eat less."

When Old Zhu heard this, he suddenly became nervous and his voice became much gentler. "Miao Jin, even if you can't eat, just force yourself to eat a few more bites. You are pregnant now, this is not a small matter. If there is anything you want to eat, tell Yun Huan, or go find Concubine Ning."

Xu Miaojin naturally would not lack food and drink. There were so many good things in the Eastern Palace, and the rewards continued.

Zhu Yunxun touched his face and said, "I heard people say that you can gain weight during confinement, but it seems that this is not the case now. Miao Jin is pregnant, and I have gained a little weight."

"You're not fat, you're a little thinner!" Old Zhu thought for a long time before saying, "You're just too active and don't seem to enjoy yourself. Look at your uncles and brothers, most of them are clean-shaven, but you like to wield swords and guns like a warrior."

Zhu Yunhuan had no way to refute this. In that era, many people considered being plump and white as a sign of good fortune. Being able to eat enough to become fat at least meant that one had no worries about food and clothing and that one's family conditions were relatively good.

Even though he is quite busy now, Zhu Yunhuan will still move around and exercise when he has time, otherwise he will feel like his body is rusty.

As for Xu Miaojin, Zhu Yunhuan also knew that he was not an authoritative doctor. Others might consider some of his words, but they might not necessarily fully agree with them.

He just accompanied Xu Miaojin for a short walk every day to maintain a certain amount of exercise so that she could stay in a happy physical and mental state. This seemed to be the limit of what he could do now.

"Miao Jin's belly is a little bulging now. I'm happy just thinking about it." Zhu Yunhuan didn't care about Xu Miao Jin's blushing face, and said to Lao Zhu, "I think about it, Wen Yao will be born in September."

Old Zhu was even happier when he heard this, and hurriedly said, "Let's calculate the date, this is our child!"

Zhu's birthday is September 18th, Zhu Biao's is September 5th, Zhu Xiongying's is October 27th, and Zhu Yunhuan's is November 9th.

This is of course referring to the lunar calendar. Originally, the birthdays of the heads of the three generations of this family were very concentrated. It is just that now there are "few people", so it seems that there are some gaps.

Zhu Yunxun also smiled and said, "It should be September. The weather will be better then. It won't be too cold or too hot, so Miao Jin doesn't need to stay warm during her confinement. It will be winter when Wen Yao grows up a bit."

Old Zhu said with great joy, "When the New Year's Day or the Winter Solstice comes, we can't bring our great-grandson out. We have to take good care of him. We'll take him with us when spring comes."

Zhu Yunxun suddenly asked, "If I really give Wen Yao to you next year, what will happen to the court's affairs?"

Old Zhu glanced at Zhu Yunhuan and said, "Don't test me. I will abdicate next year when Wen Yao turns one. You don't have to rush to change the reign. You can do it at the end of the year."

Many emperors in history liked this reign title, and it was very normal for an emperor to have many reign titles.

Emperor Wu of Han used ten reign titles, and Emperor Gaozong of Tang used fourteen. When encountering major events such as auspicious signs from heaven or internal or external troubles, the reign title would generally be changed.

Of course, there are exceptions. Li Shimin only used the reign title Zhenguan. Now the Ming Dynasty has basically set the rule that the emperor only uses one reign title.

This is also the reason why emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties were directly named by their reign titles, such as Emperor Hongwu, Emperor Yongle, Emperor Kangxi, etc. Before the Ming and Qing dynasties, they were basically called by their temple names, such as Emperor Taizu of Song, Emperor Taizong of Tang, and so on.

"Then how should I choose my reign title?" Zhu Yunhuan thought about it carefully and asked, "How about Yongle?"

Old Zhu said with disdain, "Yongle? That sounds vulgar, it doesn't sound good."

There is no way around it. In history, Zhu Di's reign title was called Yongle. Many people think that it was because he ascended the throne in a hurry and did not have time to think about it. So the reign title used by Zhang Chonghua of Former Liang appeared. The most important thing was that Fang La also used "Yongle" when he rebelled.

In fact, it is not uncommon for there to be conflicts between year numbers, but if you can avoid them, you would rather not do so, otherwise it would be embarrassing.

Zhu Yunhuan asked again, "Where is Jiajing Yin Bang?"

Old Zhu was stunned for a moment and asked, "What does this mean?"

"It comes from the Book of History - Wu Yi." Zhu Yunhuan said with a smile, "I think this is good. The court is stable and the people are well-off. This is a sign of a prosperous era."

Old Zhu thought about it carefully and rejected it again, "No, it's good that you have this ambition. But you are not worthy of our grandson, who is such a hero! I will think about it for you later. If you let me hold my great-grandson, I will let you be the emperor."

Zhu Yunhuan lowered his head and said to Xu Miaojin's abdomen, "Son, did you hear that? When you are born, your father will be the emperor, and you will be the crown prince!" Such outrageous words made Zhang Fusheng and others lower their heads in fear, and they all hated themselves for having ears.

Old Zhu was delighted. His grandson was right. Wen Yao could only be the crown prince of Ming Dynasty. And Yun Hun would be the next emperor of Ming Dynasty!
There is no rush for things like the reign title, because it seems that there is still more than a year to go. During this time, Zhu can think carefully, and there will definitely be some knowledgeable university scholars who will give enough suggestions.

Zhu Yunhuan was also very clear in his mind that he knew it was not his turn to worry about things like the reign title. With Zhu's character, he would definitely have to arrange a lot of things, and the reign title was no small matter.

But if you think about it, the Ming Dynasty would most likely start to change the head of the family in the 30th year of Hongwu, while Zhu Yuanzhang died in the 31st year of Hongwu in history.

Xu Miaojin also seemed to be much calmer and had developed a certain immunity to certain topics.

While eating, Zhu Yunhuan said, "Grandfather, I'm afraid it will be difficult to achieve a great victory in this northern expedition. I've thought about it carefully. This time we may just fight a few small tribes, and it's difficult to achieve a great victory."

Old Zhu asked calmly, "Oh? You don't have much military skills, how did you figure out all this?"

This made Zhu Yunhuan speechless. He originally thought that he had some strategic vision. He originally thought that his overall view was still good, but now he looked at it again, and his strategic vision was just so-so in the eyes of Zhu.

However, it was difficult for Zhu Yunhuan to refute. In front of other people, Zhu Yunhuan might still care about his face. But in front of Old Zhu, Zhu Yunhuan's vision was really not enough.

"Seventeenth uncle is good at making plans, and the three guards he leads are mostly Hu cavalry, who are brave and good at fighting." Zhu Yunhuan explained, "The Tartars were originally in civil strife, and although they have recovered a little in recent years, they dare not march south in large numbers."

Old Zhu nodded slightly. He was quite satisfied with his 17th son Zhu Quan. This was a very strategic kid. If he was placed before the founding of the country, he would also be a capable character.

Zhu Yunhuan continued, "My grandfather sent a large army to attack us this time, probably because he wanted to chop off the claws of the Tartars. They have been fighting among themselves for several years, and they are also thinking about establishing their authority, or they are thinking about going south to plunder. Let's give them a hard blow first, so that they won't become bolder!"

Listening to Zhu Yunhuan's words, Zhu nodded with satisfaction. This was indeed one of his basic strategic ideas.

It was indeed difficult for too many Mongolian Tartars to go south this time, even though Zhu Quan found some Tartar armor in Daning. But they were mostly small groups of roving guards, which really could not make a big difference.

Moreover, don’t think that the Ming Dynasty is completely unaware of the situation on the grassland. The Ming Dynasty still knows that the Oirat and Tatar are fighting, and these two major tribes are competing for the orthodox Khan throne.

Within the Tatars and Oirat, various tribes were fighting for power, and incidents such as regicide occurred frequently.

"It's time to give them a good beating. We've been treating them better over the years." Old Zhu said mockingly, "These people are just scabby dogs. They only get scared when you're mean to them! If you hurt them, they'll tremble and hide away, not daring to show their teeth!"

There doesn't seem to be any big problem with this, because Mongolia has long been divided, and has been constantly defeated in battles against the Ming Dynasty over the years, and has long lost its original psychological advantage.

"The Tartars are not behaving themselves now. I guess a ruthless person will emerge from their internal strife." Old Zhu said worriedly, "The north is the biggest threat to the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Yunhuan naturally had no objection to Zhu's point of view, which was basically the fact.

Zhu Di made several northern expeditions, Zhu Qizhen was captured by the Oirat Mongols, Xuanfu and other places were repeatedly looted by the Tatars, etc. These are all things that would have happened in history.

At present, the external threats to the central dynasty basically come from the north. This is not only what Zhu Yuanzhang knows, but also what everyone with a little common sense in this era knows.

Including the Jurchens, they all developed from the Baishan and Heishui regions. Even if there were various factors, they did move south from the north to enter the country.

Old Zhu continued, "We have also thought about this. It is rare for someone like Temujin to appear in a thousand years. But we cannot underestimate the Tartars. Wanyan Aguda and Yelu Abaoji were also heroes of their time."

Zhu Yunhuan also agreed with this and said, "If these Tartars really become stronger, they cannot be underestimated."

This statement is naturally a more euphemistic one. Whether it was the Khitan or the Jurchen, they both once defeated the Han dynasty very badly, leaving behind many tragic memories.

"We can't have a powerful tribe on the grassland. We have to suppress it from time to time." Lao Zhu said, "If anyone stands out, we will suppress him."

There seems to be nothing wrong with this statement. There can be a few relatively powerful tribes on the grassland, but there must not be one tribe that has completed the unification of the grassland, otherwise the pressure on the Ming Dynasty will increase instantly.

This time, some Tartars wanted to go south as a test and extend their sphere of influence to the area south of the desert again. Naturally, the Ming Dynasty could not sit idly by.

At this time, we must respond strongly. Since the Tartars dare to stretch out their claws, we must chop off these claws. Let these Tartars be afraid and shrink back. This is the best way.

As long as the Tatars hide in the more bitter and cold northern desert, it will be difficult for them to truly grow stronger, and the Ming Dynasty will be able to better control the lush grasslands in the southern desert.

Areas such as Daning are extremely important to the Ming Dynasty. They are the frontier points for controlling the grassland.

This place must be defended, and the Ming army must take root in these areas, otherwise the Tatars may be able to directly threaten the Great Wall.

Old Zhu looked at Zhu Yunhuan and said, "I've thought about it and think it's time to hand over some of the Jinyiwei to you."

Zhu Yunhuan joked, "It should be given to me. I don't know how many people and how many things there are now."

Zhu Yuanzhang handed over most of the power to Zhu Yunhuan and never restricted him. But Zhu Yuanzhang still had some trump cards in his hand, which Zhu Yunhuan knew well. These secret weapons were also very important.

Old Zhu was straightforward, "These people are just to keep a way out and have more eyes. You are going to be the emperor, so we should give you. If we don't rise one day, it will be bad."

"I've already said that I'll take care of Wen Yao until he's ten years old." Zhu Yunxun said, "I've been a playboy since I was young, and Miao Jin is also very smart. I think Wen Yao will definitely be difficult to take care of. If he makes trouble, I won't take care of him anyway."

Old Zhu smiled and said, "It's good to make trouble. Boys who are not naughty have no future! You take care of the government, and I will take care of the children!" (End of this chapter)