Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Zhu Gui was worried. As the King of Qi of the Ming Dynasty, although he was not as brilliant as his other brothers, he also thought he had some strategy and courage.

Especially since he was granted the title of vassal in Qingzhou and stationed in Kaiping, he has been very proud of himself.

He went on several expeditions to Mongolia with the army. Even though he did not fight many battles or kill many enemies, he still felt that he was very strategic and made the Hu people flee. And in his own territory, no one dared to look at him sideways.

But now, he had just returned with the army, and immediately received an imperial edict ordering him to return to Beijing as soon as possible.

The people from the Embroidered Uniform Guard have the emperor's imperial edict, which cannot be fake.

Zhu Yu could feel the severity of the imperial edict, and he also thought carefully about what he had done. During this expedition, there was indeed a suggestion to withdraw the troops early, but it was not carried out.

Since it was not this incident, could it be that the officials in Qingzhou complained during the time when I was away on the expedition?
It is very likely that this is the case. Zhu Yu was also tyrannical in his fiefdom and did some illegal things. But when he was in Qingzhou, no one dared to complain!
Although he still had some confusion in his heart, Zhu Yu did not dare to delay for even a moment. Since the imperial edict had already arrived, he would quickly respond to Tianfu.

The reason was very simple, that is, when he was in Qingzhou, he was a majestic vassal king. But deep down, he was still afraid of Emperor Hongwu.

Even if he sometimes showed some disapproval of Zhu Yunhuan, Zhu Gui did not dare to be arrogant and contemptuous of him, because his nephew was the crown prince and the heir to the throne whose position was becoming increasingly stable.

Just these few things were enough to make Zhu Gui deal with them carefully and not be too domineering.

In the court, there are still censors impeaching Zhu Gui, but the scale seems to be controllable, and there is no intention to implicate the royal family or officials at present.

After returning to Wenhua Hall after the morning court session, Zhu Yunhuan called Zhu Yunwen and asked, "Now that you know about these things, how do you think we should deal with them?"

Zhu Yunwen had already had an idea, but he still had to pretend, "Your Highness, I think the important matters of the court are decided by Your Majesty, Your Highness will participate in the discussion, and I dare not speak rashly."

Zhu Yunwen's position seemed to be very correct, as if to show that he was just a vassal king and was not suitable to participate in the discussion of state affairs, which was the duty of a vassal king.

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "After all, the matter involves the royal family, and you are involved. I still want to ask your opinion. From now on, you should be the head of the royal family of the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Yunwen didn't believe a word of what Zhu Yunhuan said, but he couldn't refute it now.

It seems that Zhu Yunwen has a chance to be the Zongzheng or Zongrenling, after all, he is the second brother of Zhu Yunhuan.

But think about it carefully, even if Zhu Chong, Zhu Gang and others are gone, there are still a large number of emperor uncles. Many of these emperor grandchildren are younger than Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Yunhuan.

Zhu Yunwen spoke cautiously, "Your Highness, I think there are many cunning and corrupt people involved in this incident. The court has its own laws, and we should enforce them strictly."

Zhu Yunxun asked with a smile, "Your brother-in-law is also among them. With his crimes, it will be difficult for him to get away with it. So, are you going to execute him?"

Zhu Yunwen replied without hesitation, "Your Highness, this person is corrupt and corrupt, and he bribed officials. He is really hateful. I think he should be executed, so that he can serve as a warning to others!"

Seeing that Zhu Yunhuan did not speak, Zhu Yunwen continued, "Guanglu Shaoqing Ma Quan has not taught his children well. I think he should be allowed to retire and become an official. Only then can the officials control their families."

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Zhu Yunwen and said with a smile, "You are right. Your brother-in-law can't do these things by his own ability. He just relied on the reputation of his father and his brother-in-law."

Zhu Yunwen was beaten again, and this time he was very honest, "I didn't manage my family well, and the manager in the mansion deceived the superiors and the subordinates. I ask Your Highness to investigate this case thoroughly, and I can rest assured!"

These are indeed Zhu Yunwen's true words, he really doesn't know much about these things. So if the court investigates the case thoroughly, there will be a chance to clear his name, otherwise he really can't clear his name even if he jumps into the Yellow River.

The bottom line is that although Zhu Yunwen also loves money, he sometimes also has some of the "purity" of a scholar. He seems to be ashamed to talk about things like money, and things like making money cannot be mentioned in person.

His brother-in-law was in collusion with the steward of the mansion, and those benefits did not fall into the hands of the Prince of Wulin's mansion. Those people were just cheating people outside under the banner of Zhu Yunwen.

As for the fact that Zhu Yunhuan and Zhu Yunwen had a not-so-harmonious relationship, or that there was a dispute over the throne, these were things that everyone in the world knew.

Furthermore, senior officials did not dare to approach Zhu Yunwen, but for many low-level officials, the Prince of Wulin was already an unattainable figure. This current Prince of Wulin was bound to become a prince in the future, and for some officials, being able to serve him was like a blessing from their ancestors.

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "Since you have such thoughts, I am also relieved. This time I will not let you make a report, so as not to make my sister-in-law look bad. If not for your sake, then for my nephew's sake."

This is also the truth from Zhu Yunhuan. Zhu Yunwen should not be allowed to submit a memorial on this matter. After all, it also involves his father-in-law and brother-in-law.

Although Zhu Yunwen's character might not care much about his princess, and the princess might not dare to say anything in front of Zhu Yunwen, but he couldn't be asked to do everything, so he should try to avoid as much trouble as possible.

Zhu Yunwen was touched for a moment. He had already prepared to offend the royal family again and make the princess feel alienated. But this time, he was not the one to show up!
This is definitely a great thing, and it is also some treatment that Zhu Yunwen did not dare to think about. He has finally made it through, and he will no longer be the only one to do all the things that offend people!
This was naturally the best thing that could happen. Zhu Yunwen truly felt that he had finally made it through. Perhaps he wouldn't have to be privately blamed by the royal family in the future.

"It's just that this time, the incident was caused by you." Zhu Yunhuan said directly, "The previous method of evaluating the royal family can no longer be just for show. This time, we will follow the method of evaluating the royal family. You can ask for punishment yourself, and we will not let you interfere in this matter."

Zhu Yunwen, who was originally a little moved, immediately stopped talking. The crown prince seemed to be more tolerant, but he would still continue to do what he had to do.

It seemed that there was no need for Zhu Yunwen to personally submit a memorial to impeach his father-in-law, nor did he need to ask for an imperial decree to execute his brother-in-law.

However, these things are what the court should do, and they were probably decided long ago. There is no need to discuss them because of Zhu Yunwen.

As for the treatment of the royal family, the previous royal family assessment method was ostensibly proposed by Zhu Yunwen. Now that it has begun to be directly implemented and executed on a large scale, it will still start with him.

Those who don't know would think he was shooting himself in the foot, but those who know would know that the Prince of Wulin was just a tool used by the Crown Prince to suppress the royal family.

Zhu Yunwen did not dare to say anything more, and said politely, "Your Highness is wise, and I will obey your orders!" There was no other way. If he had done nothing wrong, he might still have a chance to be tough. With the emperor's grandfather around, he would not be constantly beaten when he did nothing wrong.

But now I don't have the confidence enough. I can't escape the blame for not governing my subordinates strictly. Moreover, I can't control my family, which is adding insult to injury. Naturally, I don't have the confidence to say anything at this time.

Therefore, the smartest thing to do at this time is to carry out the order obediently, even if it is very painful, you have no choice but to do so.

This can be considered as a way of spending money to avoid disaster. Although you don't get any benefits, you still suffer losses because of it.

But there is nothing that can be done about it. I have to enforce the rules in the Prince's Mansion when I return. The people under my command are becoming a little too arrogant!
After Zhu Yunwen left, Zhu Yunxun said with a smile, "Let my fifth uncle come over. He has been jumping around in the capital these days, so don't be afraid of rumors."

Zhu Su was really reckless, so Zhu Lao and Zhu Yunhuan adopted some cold treatments, which seemed to be a warning to Zhu Su.

However, after Zhu Su personally went to interrogate the case, he had a clear idea in his mind. He definitely had some responsibility, but he did not think he was the direct person responsible. He also knew that he had nothing to fear as long as he was innocent.

So just deal with it in a rogue way, even if you are fined, etc., don't treat him as a sinner.

Relying on the favor of Zhu Yuanzhang and his close relationship with Zhu Yunhuan, Zhu Su naturally felt a little more confident at this time.

He would not be as "well-behaved" as Zhu Yunwen, who would accept punishment when necessary, but he would never be allowed to become the chicken to be killed as a warning to the monkeys.

The King of Zhou is indeed not short of clever tricks and has many little ideas.

For example, Zhu Yunwen made it clear that he would stand at attention when he was beaten. At most, he was thinking about how to reduce his own responsibility, which seemed to be the best way.

But Zhu Su would not be like this. He knew that he would definitely be punished and that he could not be completely without responsibility, but that did not mean he had to accept it obediently.

Instead of going to the civil and military officials, he complained to the royal family and relatives by marriage, looking like he was constantly complaining.

He does have responsibilities and can accept punishment, but the punishment should not be too severe, because he was also deceived.

Seeing Zhu Su coming over, Zhu Yunxun joked, "Fifth Uncle, I thought you were going to find my two sisters. Maybe they can help you speak up."

"Forget about your nieces. They always side with you and will go by whatever you say." Zhu Su was not vague and said directly, "If you tell them, they will probably still be worried."

Zhu Yunhuan didn't know how to respond for a moment, because what his fifth uncle said was basically the same as the actual situation.

His two elder sisters were indeed timid and indecisive, and they did not understand some of the things going on in the court. If they knew about these things, they would only get anxious and waste time.

Zhu Yunhuan stopped joking and said, "Uncle Wu also knows about this. How do you think I should deal with it?"

"This is a troublesome matter. Many members of the royal family are implicated." Zhu Su said directly, "If we really don't punish them, it will be difficult to convince the public, and the prestige of the court will be affected to some extent."

Zhu Yunhuan looked at his fifth uncle with a smile, and while Zhu Su was answering these questions, he was constantly observing Zhu Yunhuan's expression so that he could make some timely adjustments.

These are thousand-year-old foxes, so don't sing any Liao Zhai stories at this time. Everyone knows what's going on, so it's better to be direct and decisive.

Zhu Su continued, "Find me guilty of not governing my subordinates strictly, and reduce my allowance this year. Those who did evil will be executed. I accept all of this."

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and replied, "Fifth Uncle, this is what should be done. But I'm afraid it's still a little hard to convince people to do this, right?"

These can be regarded as Zhu Yunhuan's true feelings. Zhu Su's proposals are obviously the lightest punishment. It can even be said that it is just a routine matter, and it seems that there is no substantial impact at all.

Everyone can guess that when a member of the royal family made a mistake, they would just cover it up. It seems reasonable to punish the offender, but those who don't know would think that it is just to push out a few scapegoats.

There are always conspiracy theories in every era. Sometimes people are unwilling to believe certain things, but they firmly believe that what they think is the most correct truth.

Zhu Su asked somewhat unhappily, "Isn't this enough? Do I have to go back to my hometown? If that's the case, will the Seventh Old Man be demoted to a commoner?"

"Uncle Wu is a prince of the imperial court. How can someone use Uncle Wu's name to attract others to his side?" Zhu Yunhuan also became serious and said, "Isn't it Uncle Wu's fault for not managing the family properly? Is it because Uncle Wu can't control his confidants?"

Zhu Su was speechless at this point. He felt that he had been cheated and deceived.

But others are using his name, and they are indeed managers he trusts the most, and that is the fact.

"The losses caused will naturally be borne by Fifth Uncle, so that he can manage the household and control the people in the mansion in the future." Zhu Yunhuan said directly, "The managers, officials, generals, etc. in your mansion should have their property confiscated and those who should be executed should be executed."

Zhu Su didn't know what to say. Those who committed crimes would definitely be severely punished, which was also within his expectations.

Zhu Yunhuan's true intentions were exposed, and he suddenly said, "This time, someone from your Zhou Wang's three guards colluded with each other. They were originally soldiers given by the court, but they went to Liaodong. Just thinking about it makes my back cold!"

Zhu Su's color changed instantly. This was actually what he feared the most, because if he really took advantage of the situation, it would become like the princes were secretly connecting with the army, and the troops were from other places.

If I were really convicted of treason, I wouldn't be able to complain! (End of this chapter)