Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Chapter 283 Fundamental
Treating the nobles and relatives as knives in his own hands is what Zhu Yunhuan is doing, and it seems to be a very good thing now. Sometimes things go well, which is better than anything else.

Xu Miaojin is quite busy. She has the potential to be a good wife and she also knows how to handle some things.

"Your Highness, I originally thought that the Zhongshan Palace and the Kaiping Palace should not be rewarded heavily." Xu Miaojin looked at Zhu Yunhuan and said with a smile, "Just think about it, when Your Highness wanted to lift the maritime ban, these two families contributed the most."

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and nodded. He agreed with this point. "The so-called clear distinction between rewards and punishments, rewarding merits and punishing faults, should not be treated casually just because you are close to someone. If your family members have made contributions, then they should be rewarded generously, and their hearts should not be chilled."

For Zhu Yunhuan, this is something he will insist on, and he does not think there is anything wrong with his choices.

Xu Miaojin also said, "Let's not talk about other things. In recent years, whenever Your Highness wants to do something, the Kaiping Palace is always the first to rush forward. This time, my grandmother and uncles have contributed a lot, and Your Highness should reward them generously."

Zhu Yunhuan pinched Xu Miaojin's chin and said, "Since we got married, the Zhongshan Palace has contributed a lot of money and effort. Although the Zhongshan Palace was also respectful in the past, it was never like this now."

Xu Miaojin blushed a little, but still said, "My father always taught us when he was alive. Now that my eldest brother is in charge of the family, the family tradition remains intact."

Zhu Yunhuan shook his head and said jokingly, "The family tradition of Prince Zhongshan's Mansion is well known to the world. In the past, I just wanted to be loyal to Your Majesty. After you entered the palace, Prince Zhongshan's Mansion helped me more."

This is the truth. In the past, Xu Huizu was just doing his duty as Duke of Wei and was very respectful to Zhu Yunhuan, the crown prince. But at that time, Xu Huizu was more concerned about the emperor's arrangements and abided by the way of being a minister.

But now it’s different. People are more supportive of Zhu Yunhuan, the crown prince.

After all, there are still some differences. After all, Xu Miaojing is now the Crown Prince's Consort, and Zhu Wenyao is now the great-grandson of the Emperor.

The support that the Prince of Kaiping had given to Zhu Yunhuan was naturally replicated in the support that the Prince of Zhongshan had given to Zhu Wenyao. The difference might be that Xu Huizu was capable, while Chang Sheng was much more mediocre.

When it is time to reward, there must be reward; when it is time to punish, there must be punishment. After discussing the rewards for the nobles with Xu Miaojin, the two of them took a rest.

Every day was very busy. Zhu Yunhuan was busy with state affairs. He was not extremely busy, but he really could not sit idle. It was common for him to work hard, which was what the crown prince should do.

Xu Miaojin actually had no choice but to sit idle. She was the Crown Prince's Consort, and her position was even more secure after she gave birth to Zhu Wenyao. Now Concubine Guo Ning was helping to take care of the child, which meant that all matters in the harem, big or small, were basically handed over to Xu Miaojin.

Just like usual, Zhu Yunhuan got up early, washed, and then went to court. This was his life.

After attending court, Chang Sheng began to directly report military achievements and great victories, which made many civil servants feel extremely depressed and entangled.

Although everyone knows that the fleet from Taicang Port brought back a large amount of property and goods, they originally went out to sea under the banner of suppressing Japanese pirates, and now they have returned with some spoils of war.

All of this is naturally more interesting and complicated, because the Crown Prince is pretending to be ignorant while knowing the truth, and many nobles have also seen the benefits or want to please the Crown Prince, and they are cheering and waving their flags, etc.

This means that the going out to sea has basically been determined. This is the spoils of war and this is a normal military operation.

The goods brought back will naturally be deposited into the national treasury, but don’t forget that there will be merit and rewards at that time. This has little to do with the civil servants for the time being, and these people can only keep an eye on the future of the Maritime Customs.

However, all this is easier said than done. The Crown Prince will not give up power easily, and the nobles who have tasted the sweetness will not give up easily, not to mention the presence of royal family members and external relatives.

It was extremely difficult for civil officials to seize the initiative. Even if the Maritime Customs Office was reopened, they could not get rid of the nobles and royal family members.

When going out to sea, you need a navy to accompany you. If you earn benefits, the nobles and royal family will keep an eye on you and even supervise you strictly. If anyone wants to embezzle or take away their benefits, these unreasonable nobles will dare to make a big deal.

Power needs to be balanced. It is fine for civil servants to lead some things, but they must accept restrictions. Even the so-called leadership seems to be more about the person in charge, rather than being able to do whatever they want.

Zhu Yunhuan pretended to be ignorant and affirmed the military merits of the army's voyage, which was considered to be the tone. Then some of the following things naturally began to fall into place.

The nobles were naturally happy and excited. They had gained a lot of benefits this time, which was worth being happy and joyful.

Civil servants should not give up and continue to strive for more power. Now they have lost the initiative, but they should not just throw up their hands and surrender. They should think about the long-term interests and benefits and fight for it when it is time.

The morning court was not just a simple end. During the report, some censors continued to impeach. However, this time they were not impeaching the Jinyiwei for starting a large-scale prison, but impeaching some officials for corruption, collusion between officials and businessmen, etc.

The censors in the court are not all thinking about petty gains and losses. Many of them still have ambitions, many of them still have some pursuits, etc.

Many things at this time are naturally more interesting, and these are what Zhu Yunhuan wants to see.

And for many people, they should be nervous, because some people's power, status, etc. will soon be hit.

This time, no one thought there was anything wrong with impeaching and arresting some officials. After all, Emperor Hongwu simply could not tolerate corrupt officials. This crown prince also attached great importance to officialdom and would not allow corrupt officials to exist.

So it is not surprising that some people are caught for committing crimes. Many people even wave the flag and shout, because no matter what they think in their hearts, corrupt officials are intolerable to secular etiquette and laws, and they must pay the price for committing crimes.

Just think about it, the imperial court had previously moved some local gentry in Jiangnan to Yingtian Prefecture, and now it is taking the opportunity to further move some local powerful families and so on to Yingtian Prefecture.

For many local nobles who had their feet on the ground in the south of the Yangtze River, this was tantamount to a catastrophe. The imperial power was uprooting the gentry's roots and leaving them no chance of growing bigger.

These can be considered a combination punch, and these may be some strategies that were formulated a long time ago.

Of course, it is also possible that the emperor and the crown prince saw the opportunity and naturally continued to push some things forward.

Zhu Yunhuan was in a good mood after returning to Wenhua Hall, "Master, ask the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Justice and the Inspectorate to quickly investigate the case. By the way, let my fourth son participate in the trial. This case cannot be vague." No one was surprised that the three judicial officials were involved. In the past, the Ministry of Personnel would "punish" some officials, basically ending their careers.

None of these were surprising to Daoyan. After all, the crown prince was used to being ruthless when he was in a powerful position, and he was also used to continuously attacking the power of some civil servants whenever he got hold of any evidence. There was nothing strange about this.

But now that the Crown Prince intends to let Zhu Yunwen attend the trial as an observer, the matter has obviously become interesting and even complicated.

Many people knew what kind of situation Zhu Yunwen was in. Although he was the younger brother of the crown prince, he had no presence in the court, let alone within the royal family. Many people kept their distance from him and dared not approach him.

Now that he was allowed to attend the trial, perhaps this was the Crown Prince showing off his royal family affection and considering showing his attitude. After all, Zhu Yunwen had no status or power, and was basically the Crown Prince's yes-man, just a tool to get things done according to the will.

In fact, Zhu Yunwen has been quite active recently. Whether it is Zhu Yunwen arranging for Zhu Yunwen to return to Fengyang to worship his ancestors, or letting him sit in on the trial now, etc., this seems to be a kind of attention and preparation for his enthronement as king.

This is not a redundant move. After all, it is just to show a gesture.

Daoyan understood this and immediately said, "Your Highness, I think it would be best for you to preside over this case."

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "My fourth child only likes to study and is honest and upright. You probably don't know that the child is soft-hearted. If you really let him try the case, I'm afraid he will be deceived."

Daoyan seemed to be arguing, "Your Highness, I think His Highness is well-read and knows the truth. Since the evidence is solid, he should know how to try the case. Moreover, with the assistance of the three judicial officials, His Highness will be able to handle the case well."

Xia Yuanji also followed suit and said, "Your Highness, I second the motion. This case is quite complicated. Although there have been cases of imperial officials colluding with local gentry before, this is different. The collusion between imperial officials and merchants is rare before."

This is not a precedent, but some previous connections were more hidden. This time many people are more anxious and no longer hide it.

Zhu Yunhuan thought about it carefully and said, "What you said does make sense. Let's do this. Urge King Zhou to return to the capital as soon as possible. I will feel more at ease if he takes my fourth son to try the case."

It seems to be a good idea to let the famous playboy Zhou Wang preside over the trial. There is no need to worry about the connection between Zhou Wang and the civil service group, even though Zhou Wang seems to be busy editing books and studying medicine, and seems to be interacting with some scholars.

However, the King of Zhou preferred doctors, senior officials, craftsmen, etc. rather than those Confucian disciples who liked to talk about all sorts of things.

The King of Zhou presided over this case. It is estimated that the officials who were convicted would be severely punished if not put to death. Some civil officials would also be disgraced.

As for those local gentry, they will definitely be severely punished by His Royal Highness Prince Zhou who is not afraid of trouble.

Many people said that the crown prince was close to and valued the kings of Qin and Jin, but the one he had the best relationship with was the king of Zhou. And the king of Zhou was also very reliable in his work.

Daoyan and Xia Yuanji looked at each other. They knew very well that the civil officials were in trouble this time, and some of the gentry in Jiangnan were also under pressure. If they were not careful, some of the officials in Jiangnan would be cleared out of the court, and their positions would most likely be filled by some officials from the north.

Using this case to strengthen the power of some northern officials is a win-win situation.

There is no need to worry about the government affairs. Basically, they are just some middle and low-level officials, and they will not affect the government affairs too much. But for the future, maybe a group of northern officials will be trained.

Zhu Yunhuan was in a good mood and felt very satisfied. Many things were going well.

Things should be done this way, with some clear goals to achieve their original purpose. However, if there is a chance to continue to bring some unexpected gains, you can take advantage of the topic to do something, which is naturally a better thing.

These were all things Zhu Yunhuan learned from his father Zhu, to make big things out of small things. It was not because he liked to watch the fun, or because he felt restless and had to find something to do.

The most important thing about all this is to be able to better handle state affairs and to better balance the power in the court.

Chang Sheng came running over happily, and he said with a heavy responsibility, "Your Highness, let the third son of the Xu family go and catch the people!"

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "No, how can the Zhongshan Palace do such things? Jinyiwei and Beizhenfusi can handle the case. The Ministry of Justice and other government offices are not for show, why should we let the people of Zhongshan Palace arrest people?"

Chang Sheng was a little embarrassed, but he still said, "Isn't it that some local gentry are used to being domineering? Maybe they have some guards and servants in their mansions."

"How can such things happen under the emperor's feet?" Zhu Yunhuan said confidently, "If the yamen runners can't catch people, and the guards and thousand households in various places can't do these things well? In my opinion, you still want to make things bigger."

Merchants, gentry, etc. may have certain power, but they do have many means to oppress good people and ordinary people, and they seem to be very difficult to deal with.

However, when these people faced the army and the imperial power, they basically had no power to resist.

There is no need to use a sledgehammer to crack a nut. There is really no need for Xu Zengshou and others to do these things. It's not that they are worried about the people in Zhongshan Palace getting their hands dirty, but there is really no need to do those things.

Chang Sheng also understood this truth, and said with a smile, "Your Highness, this is because some families are rich. If we let the subordinates handle the case, who knows if they dare to take advantage of it!"

There is some truth in this. House raids and the like are opportunities for many people to make a fortune.

Zhu Yunhuan thought for a moment and said, "There's no need to think too much about this matter. We should naturally arrange some officials to supervise it. If we take action now, I'm afraid that before the ill-gotten gains fall into our pockets, we will lose our heads."

Arresting a few merchants and so on will not fundamentally change the financial problems of the court. It is still better to develop farming steadily and to open up maritime trade seriously, this is the fundamental!

(End of this chapter)