Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Plans always fail to keep up with changes, and no one knows what will happen next. It is really helpless.

The candidate for the Minister of Rites has just been decided, and now the position of the Minister of Punishments is vacant. Many civil servants are eyeing this position, and they will definitely fight for it next.

Zhu Yunhuan didn't think there was anything strange about this. Although the Shangshu of the Ming Dynasty seemed to be a high-risk job, who doesn't have some ambition?

Being in charge of a department is the pinnacle of a civil servant. Anyone who wants to compete for the position of Shangshu would think that he is a great man of the time, and that he has some real abilities!
It is human nature to have such pursuits, and Zhu Yunhuan obviously would not be unhappy about these things.

Zhu Yunhuan discussed the matter of "The Great Ming Law and Edict" in detail with a group of officials, and he also had an idea about some additions and revisions.

Yang Jing was indeed a capable official, and the revisions and additions he presided over were very good.

Taking into account some current situations, some current secular morals, etc., it also includes the continuity of the previous "Ming Dynasty Law".

Just thinking about these things, Zhu Yunhuan felt even more regretful. It was such a pity for Yang Jing.

Chang Sheng came to Wenhua Palace and said, "Your Highness, I have already made arrangements. Yang Jing will not be wronged when he goes to Ningbo."

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "This is the best. Let's keep Yang Jing's affairs low-key. After all, he is a convicted official and has no official position. If he is too high-profile, he will inevitably be criticized."

Chang Sheng naturally understood what Zhu Yunhuan said. He also knew that in the current circumstances, he really needed to keep a low profile when necessary.

Although Yang Jing was dismissed from office, his talents were still of some use, and it would be a pity to just abandon them.

It just so happens that we need to prepare for the next step of maritime trade, and having someone like Yang Jing who is in charge of criminal law in charge can indeed provide some help.

Of course, if Yang Jing is the Minister of Justice, then he will be more useful. However, under the current circumstances, if Yang Jing continues to stay in the court, it will naturally be bad for the development of the Ming Dynasty's officialdom.

Chang Sheng said proudly, "Don't worry, Your Highness. They are all my close confidants, and this was arranged by me."

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "That's true. If something goes wrong, you will be the one to be impeached."

"I am not afraid of impeachment. Some time ago, some people said that I was just sitting there doing nothing." Chang Sheng said with pride, "As long as Your Highness trusts me, I am not afraid of impeachment."

Theoretically, if Zhu Yunhuan wanted to protect Yang Jing at all costs, he could have kept him, but by then the whole country would be in an uproar, and in the long run it would definitely do more harm than good, which would not be cost-effective.

But when someone like Chang Sheng is impeached, as long as it is not some truly serious crime, impeachment is impeachment, and punishment is just a matter of raising him high or lowering him lightly, and everyone knows it.

Zhu Yunhuan joked, "My second uncle already has a good reputation as an official. If he really gets to this place, I'm afraid his reputation will be even worse."

Chang Sheng said nonchalantly, "Your Highness, I don't care about those official reputations. If the time comes, Your Highness can just give me a title of 'Xiang' or 'Gong'."

This is naturally also referring to the posthumous title, and Chang Sheng is also expressing his own aspirations.

Zhong seems to be better, but Chang Yuchun was posthumously named King of Kaiping and given the posthumous title Zhongwu. Xu Da was posthumously named Wuning, Li Wenzhong was posthumously named Wujing, and Tang He was posthumously named Xiangwu.

As for Tang He's posthumous title "Xiangwu", there is no need to worry about the conflict, because Chang Sheng himself thought that he was not worthy of "Wu", and the possible posthumous title was "Jing" or "Zhao".

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "Second uncle, let's not talk about these things. I know some things in my heart, and there are reasons why I only leave some things to you and Third Uncle."

Chang Sheng naturally understood this truth. He had always been very clear about his own positioning and even clearer about his abilities.

There was nothing to worry about regarding Yang Jing's placement. After the former Minister of Justice made some mistakes, he could only bear such a result.

The mess left to Zhu Yunhuan was not a bad one. He just needed to carefully select a suitable new Minister of Justice.

Zhu Yunhuan now had a choice. One was Bao Zhao, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice. This man wore cloth and linen shoes and was known for his frugality. He was also the one who secretly reported Zhu Di's rebellion in history and was torn to pieces by a chariot after the Jingnan Campaign.

The other is Xia Shu, the Right Secretary of the Dali Temple. He entered the officialdom at an early age and took every step steadily. There is no need to worry about cross-industry matters, as the three judicial departments sometimes have certain commonalities.

Although there are some seemingly reasonable choices, if you think about it carefully, there is still some gap between the abilities of these two people and Yang Jing.

Daoyan obviously didn't care about Zhu Yunhuan's worries, and said, "Your Highness, we have already drafted the proposals for the publication of the Great Ming Laws and Edicts, please review them."

Zhu Yunhuan took it and looked at it carefully, then said, "I understand. I will send it to His Majesty in the next two days and wait for His Majesty to review and approve it."

There is nothing wrong with what he said, even though almost everyone knows that the Crown Prince is the one in charge now.

But since the emperor has not abdicated, some things require the emperor's approval, which is considered a truly legal procedure.

As for Zhu Yunhuan, he is now considered a de facto emperor, at least the things he does are within the emperor's powers. Compared with previous years, he now has more power, and most things are directly approved.

Even some major events were decided by him, unlike in previous years when major events required the emperor's approval.

This was another major matter that needed to be dealt with, but Zhu Yunhuan was used to it. With so much experience, it was naturally no problem.

Zhu Yunxun reminded him, "Does Duke Ying go to Wuyuan often now?"

Daoyan understood what Zhu Yunxun meant and quickly replied, "Your Highness, the Duke of Ying has not been concerned about the affairs of the Five Military Command Office recently. He is busy with the official business of the Wuyuan."

Zhu Yunhuan laughed and joked, "It's hard to say. My uncle is also working in the Five Military Commandery. Who knows if they discussed anything behind closed doors?"

Daoyan and others just smiled along. Some topics were indeed difficult for them to participate in, and they did not dare to respond easily.

Fu Zhong seems to be more valued by Zhu Yunhuan now. Some tasks are assigned to him. He is also relatively prominent in the Five Military Commandery and has some say. This is much better than being ignored in previous years.

But many people also understood that the prince of Ying and the imperial concubine's son-in-law were of mediocre ability and were almost on par with Chang Sheng.

Now he is in the Five Military Commandery, and seemingly has taken over Fu Youde's position, but his power has almost been completely taken away.

This is the reality. The Crown Prince is not only busy reducing the military power of some princes, but he is also continuing to reduce the military power of the nobles.

The veterans who founded the country, excluding those who were previously eliminated by Zhu, have basically retired and returned to their hometowns. Their influence in the army is obviously getting smaller and smaller. Fu Youde is in a similar situation. Now he only manages the affairs of Wuyuan and it is impossible for him to get involved in military power.

Feng Sheng, who was almost forgotten by some people, was still in Liaodong and seemed to be deeply trusted.

However, he had not returned to Beijing for several years, and was far away from the court and the center of power. Even after he came back, Feng Sheng's influence in the army was very limited.

The only person who seems to have some real power and influence now is Duke of Liang, Lan Yu.

However, there were still Duke of Wei Xu Huizu and Duke of Cao Li Jinglong to share the power, and there would be two veteran generals, Marquis of Wuding Guo Ying and Marquis of Changxing Geng Bingwen, to check and balance them. These people were also close to Zhu Yunhuan.

If one really calculated carefully, it seemed that the military power of the Ming Dynasty was actually completely in the hands of Zhu Yunhuan. The Five Military Commands Office could indeed be considered to be entirely his people.

The only one left was Guo Ying, who was Zhu's confidant and was loyal to Zhu. But as long as Zhu Yunhuan, the crown prince, did not rebel, Guo Ying would support him unwaveringly, because he was the crown prince chosen by the emperor.

Thinking about it, he still felt a little inflated and proud, but Zhu Yunhuan was used to it.

The transfer of power had already begun. Zhu Yuanzhang continued to delegate power, and Zhu Yunhuan was able to take it over steadily.

This is why the Crown Prince seems to be so powerful now, and this is why everyone feels that even if the Crown Prince ascends the throne now, there will not be any twists and turns.

After a busy day, Zhu Yunxun went straight back to the East Palace and asked Xu Miaojin when he saw her, "How are Grandfather and Wen Yao?"

Xu Miaojin smiled and said, "Wen Yao is still the same. When he wakes up, he cries for food, and when he finishes eating, he wants to play. Grandfather Huang carried Wen Yao out for a few turns, and then he refused to go back."

Zhu Yunxun immediately laughed, "Grandfather will be very busy in the future. I heard that many children like to run around outside when they are not at home. It seems that our Wen Yao is the same. He will be very busy in the future."

Xu Miaojin was just smiling, not worrying too much. After all, although it was true that Old Zhu was taking care of the child, there were many people around to help take care of him, so it was impossible for him to be really tired.

Xu Miaojin brought up the serious matter and said, "Today Yang Jing's wife submitted a petition to plead guilty."

Zhu Yunhuan said, "Those who should be stripped of their titles should be stripped of their titles. Yang Jing has committed such wrongdoings, so it is difficult to show him mercy."

Xu Miaojin didn't find Zhu Yunhuan's answer strange at all. The actual situation was that when some ministers made great contributions or performed well, their wives and daughters would benefit from it, and their parents would also have the opportunity to receive titles and gifts. This was also normal.

However, after those ministers committed crimes, some of the statuses that the court had awarded them would naturally be taken back.

Not to mention some of Yang Jing's family members, even some of the nobles were the same. After committing a crime, their titles would be stripped, and it was very likely that their parents and children would also be implicated, and some of their identities would be taken back by the court.

Since the Crown Prince Zhu Yunhuan has already made his decision, Xu Miaojin will naturally carry it out.

After all, some ladies of noble birth are basically managed by her. A Crown Prince's Consort does not just need to be good-looking, nor does she have to be busy fighting in the palace to maintain her position. She also needs to get things done in a down-to-earth manner.

Zhu Yunhuan continued, "After a few days, discuss with your aunts and sisters and submit a memorial to request permission to repair the temple and build a pagoda."

Xu Miaojin asked with concern, "Your Highness, Yingtian Prefecture currently has Linggu Temple and Tianjie Temple. Is that enough?"

Although Lao Zhu was a monk, he has always had restrictions on religion. The famous Lingyin Temple is now in a difficult situation. Taoism also has strict restrictions.

Zhu Yunhuan said, "The people need some comfort in their hearts. Buddhism and Taoism should not have so many monks, nor should they occupy so much land. I don't like some evil people causing trouble because of this. But some things should be done."

This is also Zhu Yunhuan's point of view. He would not just call for killing for religion. No matter it is Buddhism or Taoism, as long as it is not evil, it is acceptable as long as there are certain restrictions.

"Let's choose Tianxi Temple." Zhu Yunhuan said, "You can submit a petition and change it to Baoen Temple."

There are four hundred and eighty temples in the Southern Dynasty, and there are many towers in the mist.

The Baoen Temple is the second largest Buddhist temple in China. It was built on the basis of Jianchu Temple and Ashoka Pagoda during the Eastern Wu Dynasty. It has been called Changgan Temple, Tianxi Temple, etc.

Both the Southern Dynasties and the Northern Zhou Dynasty were named Baoen Temple.

Xu Miaojin immediately understood what Zhu Yunhuan meant, "Your Highness is truly filial, I am far inferior to you."

Zhu Yunhuan smiled. Xu Miaojin's understanding was natural and there was nothing wrong with it. But if someone thought that this was for fame and to prepare for the throne, it was understandable.

Some things have to be done, everyone in the world is watching.

After a moment's deliberation, Xu Miaojin suggested, "Your Highness, if it is changed to Baoen Temple, I think it would be better for Your Highness to submit a memorial."

Of course, she also wanted Zhu Yunhuan to gain more good reputation. If this matter was accomplished, people all over the world would think of the filial piety of the Crown Prince, which would be of great benefit.

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "No problem, just submit your memorial."

Everyone wants a good reputation, but not everyone can have a good reputation. Zhu Yunhuan knows what he wants.

It's impossible to get everything, and there's no need to be particularly greedy. It's not a bad thing to share some benefits.

But in Xu Miaojin's eyes, this matter was also a win for her. As the Crown Prince's Consort, she also needed reputation. Marrying in a formal way and giving birth to the first heir of the royal family were enough to stabilize her position.

But no one would think a good reputation is too much. Her good reputation and good name will be of great help to Zhu Wenyao in the future.

What's more, this matter seemed to be another preparation made by the Crown Prince for his ascension to the throne. This was the beginning of a campaign to build momentum from all aspects, making some things seem more logical and natural.

The ascension of the Crown Prince Zhu Yunhuan to the throne seemed to be moving forward in an unstoppable manner, and a series of preparations were being made in all aspects.

This may also be one of the benefits of abdication. It will not make people panic. Many things are arranged and can be prepared in an orderly manner.

There is really no harm in this, Zhu Yunhuan quite likes the current progress. (End of this chapter)