Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Chapter 27 Honorable Mention
There are indeed many people from military families who came to pay tribute to King Kaiping Chang Yuchun today.

But except Chang Sheng, the founding duke, no one else had a title.

Everyone can understand this. Those with titles are either attending court, sitting in the government office, or guarding outside.

Everyone can completely understand this, and no one thinks that this is a disrespect for Chang Yuchun or the Kaiping Palace.

Even so many people came, and everyone knew the reason. They came to worship at this time which was not a special day, simply because Zhu Yunhuan came.

A young man stepped forward and bowed respectfully, "I am Geng Xuan, the son of the Marquis of Changxing, and I pay my respects to Your Highness."

Zhu Yunhuan couldn't help but look at the young man in front of him, the son of Geng Bingwen, who was also the imperial concubine. He was married to Zhu Yunhuan's sister Zhu Yourong. During the Jingnan Campaign, when he followed his father to attack Yan Wang Zhu Di, he advised his father to attack Beiping directly.

But he was eventually executed by Zhu Di.

Another burly young man stepped forward, Wang De, the eldest son of Wang Bi, Marquis of Dingyuan.

Zhu Yunhuan looked carefully. Some of them seemed unfamiliar to him, while some he seemed to have seen before.

Those who bear the title of prince basically have the opportunity to inherit the title in the future. As the eldest sons of noble families, their status is naturally different.

Suddenly, a young man with a serious face stepped forward and said, "I am Xu Zengshou, your Highness. I pay my respects to you."

Zhu Yunhuan instantly became happy, this was an acquaintance.

Xu Zengshou was the youngest son of Xu Da, the King of Zhongshan. He was initially selected by Zhu Yuanzhang as a sword-bearing attendant of the Honor Guards, and his career was relatively smooth. Although it was difficult to obtain a title under normal circumstances, it was also a height that ordinary people could not achieve in their lifetime.

Xu Zengshou was quite famous in history. He was believed to have actively served his brother-in-law Zhu Di after Zhu Di started his rebellion, reported news to him, and repeatedly informed Zhu Di of the deployment in Beijing. As a result, after the Yan army crossed the Yangtze River, he was killed by Zhu Yunwen himself.

Eventually, Xu Zengshou was posthumously conferred the title of Marquis of Wuyang by Zhu Di, the first meritorious official to be conferred the title. He was then posthumously conferred the title of Duke of Dingguo, a title that would be inherited by his descendants.

The Xu family suddenly had two dukes, the eldest son Xu Yungong and the youngest son Xu Zengshou. However, Xu Yungong was loyal to Jianwen and was imprisoned by Zhu Di until his death. The line of Duke Wei stayed in Yingtian Prefecture. The line of Duke Ding was cherished by Zhu Di and was brought to Beiping after the capital was moved. There were nine generations and nine generations until the end of the Ming Dynasty.

Another familiar person appeared, Li Wenzhong's second son Li Zengzhi. He was also a military officer, and then served in the Governor's Office. He was middle-aged, in his early thirties.

Fu Rang, the youngest son of Duke Ying, also came and performed the ceremony in a proper manner. He had also followed Fu Youde to pacify Yunnan.

Zhu Yunhuan remained calm and just accepted the greetings from the children of these noble families. Chang Lan and Chang Sheng occasionally helped to introduce them, and Zhu Yunhuan would just ask a few questions at most.

He was basically satisfied, and the families that were closer to him directly sent their princes over.

For some people whose identities are sensitive or who are hesitant, their core members will also be sent out.

While Zhu Yunhuan was observing the children of these noble families, they were actually also secretly observing the emperor's grandson.

Xu Zengshou and his people were all from the ranks of the Guards, and although they could not have titles like their brothers, as long as they did not make big mistakes, it would not be difficult for them to get a first or second rank official position in the future.

Most of them had experience as guards in the palace before, and had seen the emperor's grandson Zhu Yunhuan and others, or heard some things about them.

I heard a few days ago that this grandson of the emperor should not be underestimated, and his previous reputation as a dandy might be because he was trying to hide his incompetence.

Now, watching how this boy treats others, he doesn't look like a 13-year-old boy at all. I even have the illusion that I feel pressured in front of him.

Zhu Yunhuan didn't say much, just simply said hello, got to know them, and remembered which noble families had people coming and who they sent.

Whether someone from the noble family came or not, and who came, it all reflects an attitude!

Even if they sent their core members over, it did not mean that they would be completely loyal to Zhu Yunhuan, nor did it mean that they would give their unreserved support.

But if you don't even send someone, or just send someone over at random, and your attitude is not correct, then naturally you can't expect Zhu Yunhuan to trust you in the future.

Chang Lan and Chang Sheng were both delighted, including Zhu Yourong and Zhu Youling who were standing beside them. They couldn't hide the smiles on their faces.

The fact that so many sons of military honors came, and most of them were core members, showed their attitude and meant that they were more willing to support Zhu Yunhuan.

It was somewhat unexpected that Duke of Wei Xu Yungong and Duke of Cao Li Jinglong specially sent their younger brothers here.

Fu Youde also sent his youngest son over. You know, he is now a duke, and his prestige and status in the court are no less than Lan Yu. He didn't have much contact with the Kaiping King's lineage before, but he still sent someone over. This is the best proof, and this is one of the reasons why Zhu Yunhuan can compete for the crown prince.

Standing in front of Chang Yuchun's tomb, Zhu Yunhuan did not pay homage. Even though he was Chang Yuchun's grandson, the most important thing was that Zhu Yunhuan was the emperor's grandson.

If he performed a grand ceremony, the Chang family would be extremely excited.

But on the other hand, when the censors in the court impeached him, Zhu Yuanzhang had to worry more about the interference of his external relatives in politics.

Zhu Yunhuan stood in front of Chang Yuchun's tomb for a long time, and no one knew what he was thinking.

The Chang family should have died with the country. As the second most meritorious official in the founding of the country, the Chang family should have been in a high position.

However, Chang Mao died in Longzhou because of a crime, and Chang Sheng died inexplicably during the Jingnan Campaign. As the grandson of Chang Yuchun and the son of Chang Sheng, Chang Jizu was moved to Lin'an Wei in Yunnan by Zhu Di when he was seven years old.

It was not until Chang Yuchun's seventh-generation grandson, Chang Xuanzhen, that he was given the title of Marquis of Huaiyuan.

Even when the Ming Dynasty fell, Chang Yuchun's twelfth-generation grandson Chang Yanling took care of the garden himself and lived out his life in poverty.

Xu Wenjue, a descendant of Xu Da, the Duke of Wei, could not wait to surrender to the Qing Dynasty, while Xu Yunzhen, a descendant of Xu Da, the Duke of Ding, was killed by the Dashun Army.

Seeing that Zhu Yunhuan didn't say anything, Chang Sheng and others just watched and waited quietly by the side after the worship.

After a long time, Chang Sheng stepped forward at Zhang Fusheng's reminder, "Your Highness, it's time to go back."

Zhu Yunhuan nodded, and said to Chang Sheng, "Second uncle, light a stick of incense for me."

Chang Sheng naturally did as he was told.

After Chang Sheng finished his ceremony, Zhu Yunhuan looked in the direction of Xiaoling Mausoleum. This time he could not pay homage to his mother, nor could he pay homage to his brother.

After leaving Chang Yuchun's tomb, Zhu Yunhuan suddenly said before getting on the carriage, "Today the court will offer sacrifices to my brother, so you guys should go back and prepare. Regardless of whether the court will appoint officials from the Ministry of Rites or nobles to accompany the sacrifice, you guys can go."

People like Wang De who are deeply tied to the Chang and Lan families will naturally not refuse and will also be surprised.

People like Xu Zengshou and Li Zengzhi were a little surprised, and then they couldn't help but let their imagination run wild.

If it was to worship King Yu Huai, there would definitely be some serious nobles. I'm not talking about the princes, but those with serious titles.

This time they were able to come to pay homage to King Kaiping, but in fact many people knew in their hearts that their fathers and brothers were still worried about being too involved.

But the next time we go to worship King Yu, it will go a step further and let these noble families directly take sides and express their stance.

There are also some recognition and rewards involved, otherwise people like Xu Zengshou would not be qualified to go to Zhu Xiongying's tomb to offer sacrifices.

After saying this, Zhu Yunhuan directly climbed onto the carriage, and a large group of people and followers surrounded Zhu Yunhuan and marched towards the imperial city.

Sitting in the car, Zhu Yunhuan fell into deep thought, carefully thinking about some of today's actions and recalling some of his own words and actions.

There should be no mistakes. Even if there is nothing particularly outstanding, there should be no omissions.

This time, he just wanted to show up in front of the noble family to prove that his reputation as a playboy was not well-deserved, that's all.

Whether it is Wang De or Xu Zengshou, they will definitely tell the truth about everything that happened today after they go back, and will seriously recall Zhu Yunheng's words and deeds.

It was not enough to show up in the court once before, he needed to continue working hard, because his previous reputation as a playboy was too great.

By the way, let everyone know his origin. The emperor now has only one legitimate grandson, and the one who seemed to be highly favored before was only a concubine's son.

Zhu Yunwen's maternal grandfather, Lü Ben, served as the Minister of Taichang Temple, Minister of Personnel, Minister of Rites, and Minister of Punishments. He died childless and was buried in the shade of Zhongshan Mountain.

But this burial was actually a special favor from Zhu Yuanzhang, and Lu Ben was not originally qualified for it!
Zhu Yunhuan has his advantages in terms of birth, which is difficult for Zhu Yunwen to match. These are also one of Zhu Yunhuan's greatest confidences!

(End of this chapter)