Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Although I'm a bit busy recently, I still need to care about the things I should care about.

Zhu Yunhuan came to the Prince of Kaiping's Mansion again, and naturally he came to visit Chang Lan.

Zhu Yunhuan did have many elders, but apart from Old Zhu, the most special one was Chang Lan.

In addition to the fact that Zhu Yunhuan himself was close to the lineage of Prince Kaiping, from a more utilitarian point of view, now that Crown Princess Chang was gone, as her son, Zhu Yunhuan should also fulfill his filial piety on behalf of his mother.

This is in line with today's universal values, so when it is time to show off, it is naturally necessary to show off.

Chang Sheng was waiting for Zhu Yunhuan outside the mansion. When he saw Zhu Yunhuan, he said, "Mother has been in good spirits these days. She said a few days ago that she would go to the palace in a few days to see His Royal Highness the Great Grandson."

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "It's time for grandma to see him and hug him. When the time comes, let grandma bring Jizu over, and he should also see his nephew."

Although Chang Jizu is only one year older than Zhu Wenyao, he is one generation older than him. Even though seniority cannot be mentioned in formal occasions, it can still be mentioned in private.

After entering the Prince of Kaiping's mansion, Zhu Yunhuan went straight to the main hall, "Grandmother, you haven't been to the palace these days, this is not good."

Chang Lan smiled and said, "I am old and have some serious illness. There are some things that I hope Your Highness will forgive me for."

Zhu Yunhuan pretended to be unhappy, "If grandma really said that, she would treat me as an outsider. And you didn't even bring my stepfather over to let me see him."

Chang Lan smiled dotingly, "He's asleep. The child has been making a fuss for a long time and just fell asleep because he was tired. I wanted to coax him and told him to wait for His Highness to come, but he fell asleep as soon as he said he would."

"This is my brother!" Zhu Yunxun said with a smile, "I didn't realize it before, but now that I have Wen Yao, I know that children really love to sleep. It seems that they can't wake up all day long."

Chang Jizu is sleeping now, so there is naturally no reason to wake him up. The child is only a little over one year old, how could he know any reason or etiquette at this time.

Not to mention relatives, even a superior with a little bit of normal emotions would not bother with a child who is only over one year old.

After sitting down, Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "Speaking of which, it will be difficult for my third uncle to come back often in the future. I still want my third uncle to guard Fu Guang. I wonder what grandma thinks?"

Chang Lan smiled and said, "Your Highness, don't worry about me. Chang Sen is an official appointed by the court, and he has to do what he should do. To flatter himself, Your Highness recognizes him as your uncle, so he should serve you till his death."

"There are some people who can be used, and there are many from noble families, but I don't feel at ease using them." Zhu Yunhuan said honestly, "Fu Guang will be of great use in the future, so I can only use them if I am close to them."

This is also the truth. Zhu Yunhuan cannot possibly use only Chang Sen, but it is inevitable that there is someone with an identity that is enough to calm the situation.

"Your Highness, I don't understand government affairs." Chang Lan said with emotion, "I feel at ease just thinking that my family can help Your Highness. Chang Sheng and Chang Sen are both mediocre people, and I know that."

Anyone with a discerning eye can see the abilities of Chang Sheng and others. It is no exaggeration to say that they are the sons of a tiger father.

Zhu Yunhuan consoled him, "My second and third uncles are not outstanding, but they make me feel at ease. There are many capable people in the court, but it is difficult for them to agree with me."

This is the uniqueness of the Kaiping King's lineage, and it is also the basis for Zhu Wenyao to reuse the Zhongshan King's lineage in the future.

It is not necessarily true that all foreign relatives are absolutely capable ministers, they may also bring some troubles. However, seeing the shortcomings, we cannot ignore the existence of some innate advantages.

For example, in the current lineage of Prince Kaiping, many things are done by the Chang brothers, so Zhu Yunhuan, the crown prince, does not need to worry about getting a bad reputation.

The Chang brothers may have some small calculations, but in the general direction and in terms of major interests, they still follow Zhu Yunhuan's footsteps, which is something other nobles can hardly achieve.

Chang Lan looked at Lan Yu and said, "Your nephew has low skills, but you have some abilities. Just be more restrained and ask His Highness if you don't understand something. For my sake, His Highness will not embarrass you."

Lan Yu quickly said in a flattering tone, "Sister, even if Lan Yu is useless, I still know these principles. I have restrained myself in recent years, for fear of embarrassing Your Highness."

Zhu Yunhuan also followed suit, saying, "Grandma, you are too kind. Uncle has really helped a lot in the past few years. Let's not talk about military matters for now. He has followed whatever I said in the past few years. What else do you want?"

Zhu Yunhuan did not allow Lan Yu to raise adopted sons in the army, so he decisively dismissed those adopted sons.

In the past few years, Lan Yu was arrogant because of his achievements and did a lot of ridiculous things. He also always compared himself with Fu Youde, etc., but in recent years, his temper has indeed been restrained a lot.

Even though he was still competing with Fu Youde for the title of the greatest general of the dynasty, he was still somewhat careful about the impact and didn't make the situation too ugly.

As for the things that Zhu Yunhuan arranged, it didn't matter even if the deep meaning was unknown. Just do it first and don't worry about the rest.

Chang Lan looked at Zhu Yunhuan and said, "Your Highness, my brother is not young anymore. He has been simple-minded since he was a child. He is not a bad person, but he is a little reckless. If he really offends Your Highness in the future, please bear with me."

Chang Lan was really worried about the younger brother she had raised since he was a child and he was the only child in her family.

As an elder sister, she raised Lan Yu like her own son. In her eyes, Lan Yu was never the Duke of Liang, but just a bad boy who was troublesome.

The atmosphere was somewhat sad, Chang Lan knew it, and so did everyone present.

Of course, everyone hopes that she can live a long life, but there are some things that even if this room is full of top dignitaries, there is actually nothing much they can say about birth, aging, sickness and death.

That is beyond human power, not to mention the current medical level. Even hundreds of years from now, facing many diseases, the seemingly very advanced medical level will not be able to fully achieve it.

This is the reality. It’s not a series of things that can be accomplished by just working hard.

I visited Chang Lan and had a meal with her. Fortunately, Chang Jizu woke up. This lively guy was not shy at all and had a lot of fun with Zhu Yunhuan.

This naturally made everyone in the Kaiping Palace very happy. Even though they all knew why Zhu Yunhuan liked Chang Jizu, it was also very happy to see the two brothers getting along happily.

Even though Zhu Yunhuan was teasing the little guy, and even though everyone knew that Chang Jizu would still have to rely on his cousin for care in the future, seeing the current situation would make people feel at ease.

As soon as he returned to the East Palace, Zhu Yunhuan immediately received a lot of news, and for a moment he was speechless. Yang Jing, the Minister of Justice, was discussing legal matters with Zhu Yunhuan before, but the next moment he was impeached by the censor.

The reason was also very absurd. Yang Jing's fellow villager was imprisoned for a crime, and his family members beat the drum to appeal for justice, and Yang Jing changed the complaint on his behalf.

This seemed to be nothing, just that the fellow villager had committed a crime and his family felt wronged, so they asked Yang Jing, the Minister of Justice, for help. The Minister, who was in charge of all criminal matters in the country, helped to revise the complaint.

It seems to be reasonable, but if the Minister of Justice directly helps to amend the complaint, can this case still be handled according to normal procedures?
To put it more seriously, a second-rank official directly intervened in the case of his fellow villager. If another relative comes in the future, won't he still have to continue to help?
Although these things cannot be completely avoided, many officials are successful and their relatives and friends will rise to prominence. As long as they enter the official career, their family members will become prominent in their hometowns, and their fellow villagers will come to join them.

This is normal. In this era, hometown ties are important. If you really don't recognize your hometown, your reputation will not only be ruined in your hometown, but people all over the world will despise you.

But the reality is that Yang Jing, the Minister of Justice, really cannot intervene directly. Even if he instructs his officials to do something, he cannot directly amend the complaint!

Zhu Yunhuan looked at the memorial with a grim expression. Yang Jing was only 38 years old and very talented, but he had ruined his own career.

At the morning court, Zhu Yunhuan asked with a cold face, "The court has always prohibited officials from interacting with their fellow villagers. My dear ministers, you should also know why the court has implemented the law of serving as an official in a different place, because it is afraid that someone will bend the law for personal gain."

Yang Jing had taken off his black hat and was kneeling. From the moment he was impeached by the censor, he knew that his official career was over.

It would be a lie to say that I don't regret it, but it's too late now. Things have become serious and I can't get out of it now. This is the reality.

Sometimes when Zhu Yunhuan thought about it, he felt quite devastated. In the past, the emperor deliberately did not fill the position of Shangshu in order to have better control over the court.

But the current situation is that some Shangshu repeatedly get into trouble and ruin their future because of some seemingly ridiculous things.

Previously, the Minister of Rites Ren Hengtai violated etiquette and bought barbarians as slaves. Now, the Minister of Punishments changed the lawsuit for the sake of his fellow villagers. These things are hard to believe if you tell them, but they happened.

Looking at Yang Jing, Zhu Yunhuan asked, "Lord Yang, do you have anything to refute now?"

Yang Jing kowtowed and said, "I know I have committed a grave mistake and cannot defend myself."

This was Yang Jing's smart move. His case could be big or small. But one thing was certain: the evidence and the crime were there. If he tried to make excuses at this time, he would be treating others as fools.

Therefore, it is better to plead guilty directly with a better attitude and retain a little dignity. This is also a way to save some dignity for yourself and also a way to fight for a glimmer of hope.

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Yang Jing with great regret, "You have always prided yourself on your loyalty. Since you passed the imperial examination in the 15th year of Hongwu, you have been in charge of a department in less than ten years. You are clear-sighted in handling cases and fair in sentencing. I admire you very much for making laws that are both lenient and strict but also moderate."

Yang Jing kowtowed and said, "I have failed your Majesty and your Highness and I deserve to die!"

"Dismiss him from office!" Zhu Yunhuan said directly, "Send him to Ningbo to guard the border."

Is this punishment severe?

This was of course a very severe punishment. Dismissal from office was something everyone had expected, and he would not be given any chance of reinstatement. He was directly exiled to Ningbo to guard the border.

But it is true that the Crown Prince showed some leniency. Ningbo is in the south of the Yangtze River, a relatively affluent place. If he were really sent to a bitter and cold place, he would be living a life worse than death.

With what Yang Jing did, no one would complain if he was sentenced to death. Ren Hengtai had previously bought Annan slaves, but they were outside the Ming Dynasty, so he could be treated with some respect and not be directly dismissed and exiled.

Yang Jing naturally knew that this was the best possible outcome. If the Emperor really came to deal with this matter, he might just execute him directly.

If there was some respect left, it would mean granting him death instead of beheading him directly. Whether he could continue to hold office or not, that was something that didn't need to be considered at all.

No civil or military official could find any reason to complain about this punishment. It might be that it did not reach the level that some people imagined, where the Crown Prince was so angry that he directly executed Yang Jing.

However, compared with what some people think of as a demotion of several levels, this punishment is obviously much heavier.

Yang Jing's dismissal from office naturally gave some people an opportunity, and they felt that they could fight for it.

But some people also feel regretful. Yang Jing's reputation and ability as an official were very good, it was a pity that he was confused for a moment.

There's nothing we can do about it. It's our own choice, so naturally we have to bear the consequences ourselves.

After the court session, Zhu Yunhuan was speechless. "We have just filled the post of Minister of Rites, and now we have to consider the position of Minister of Punishment. Of the six ministers of the Ming Dynasty, do we have to leave one or two vacancies?"

It’s speechless to think about it. In the 30 years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there has almost never been a year when the six ministries were fully staffed. At least one or two had to be vacant.

If there are too many, there will be only one or two of the six ministers in position. The emperor might directly clear out most of the six ministers and vice ministers because of a major case.

When they arrived at the Wenhua Hall, Zhu Yunhuan said directly, "Pay attention to the recommendations of the Minister of Justice these days. Submit all these memorials to me."

Daoyan and others naturally understood that such a big thing had happened in the court, it was impossible for them not to know about it.

These so-called palace and cabinet ministers are now more of the aides and secretaries of the emperor and the crown prince. They have no real power but know a lot of things and can even give some advice.

"Have someone keep an eye on it. If there is any criticism recently, report it to me first." Zhu Yunhuan thought for a moment and added, "This incident is so bad that it makes me unlucky just thinking about it!"

Daoyan and the others did not dare to breathe, as they had always felt that the majesty of the Crown Prince was growing stronger and stronger. Even though the Crown Prince liked to joke around sometimes, the officials did not dare to take him seriously.

Now that the Crown Prince is angry, Daoyan and others will naturally feel tremendous pressure. They can truly feel the Crown Prince's majesty.

If this situation continues, this crown prince will most likely become another Hongwu Emperor after he ascends the throne.

As long as he keeps a straight face, he will scare countless people. (End of this chapter)