Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Zhu Su came to Yingtian Prefecture. When he presided over the cases involving collusion between some officials and gentry in the south of the Yangtze River, some people knew that the situation was hopeless and that this was also a reflection of the will of the emperor and the crown prince.

Don’t worry about maritime trade for now. You may have a chance to leverage it in the future, but facing the emperor and the crown prince who hold great power, you’d better not have any evil thoughts.

At this time, you should think about how to get some benefits if the opportunity is right, instead of thinking about taking away most of the benefits.

That is not only unrealistic, it is also a way to bring disaster, and it is something the emperor will never allow.

Zhu Su's return to Yingtian Prefecture seemed to be a signal, and Chu Wang Zhu Zhen soon arrived in Yingtian Prefecture. This was really a very suitable timing, so much so that people suspected that Zhu Zhen had been waiting on the road before.

He was determined not to be the first prince to respond to Tianfu. He would not hurry up until his other brothers arrived in Yingtianfu. If he was not the first, he would not be the last.

Although he complained, Zhu Yunhuan wouldn't say much about it. He was used to these things and naturally didn't make a fuss about them.

Zhu Chong and Zhu Gang arrived at the same time. Seeing that his third uncle was still in high spirits, Zhu Yunhuan couldn't help but laugh. This was a good thing.

Zhu Gang in history died in this year, a few months earlier than Old Zhu. As for the second uncle who is still alive and kicking, he was not poisoned to death by the old woman in the Qin Palace.

Zhu Yunhuan could only secretly take some of the credit for himself. He changed the fate of many people, and there is nothing to say about that.

Zhu Gang was unaware of Zhu Yunhuan's "life-saving grace", but as the head of the royal family princes, Zhu Chong had to appreciate it, because the fact that he was saved by Zhu Yunhuan was known to the world.

If he really didn't appreciate it, then he would lose face in the future. Even though Zhu Chong's reputation was not very good, it didn't mean that he really didn't care about his reputation at all.

"Second Uncle, Third Uncle, you are finally back!" Zhu Yunheng seemed very happy and said, "Now there are some important matters that we have to wait for you to come back to decide!"

Zhu Chong complained, "You have arranged it, how can I not do it? I support you the most, and I am afraid that I will displease the crown prince and cause the new emperor to deal with it after he ascends the throne."

Zhu Yunhuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. His second uncle had been letting himself go since he became a fiefdom, and he had been doing his own thing more and more in the past two years.

However, this may not be a bad thing, because although Zhu Chong now seems to be doing his own thing, he has restrained himself a lot compared to previous years. It's just that some outsiders may say that the King of Qin is ignorant of etiquette and does not respect the Crown Prince.

These were not things that Zhu Yunhuan particularly cared about. He was thankful that his second uncle did less evil in Xi'an, as it meant that the trouble caused by the royal family would be much less.

Of course, it is not realistic and is really asking too much to expect the King of Qin to be extremely wise now.

The most that Zhu Chong has done now is that he no longer does evil. He still enjoys himself when he should, and is not at all vague when he asks for benefits from the court. He just doesn't cause people to worry about him anymore.

Zhu Gang also said with some dissatisfaction, "Yun Hun, there are still many things to do in the northwest. Now your other uncles are waiting for me to divide the pasture, and I also have to build cities and fortifications. I am really too busy."

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and complimented him, "Third uncle is now the pillar of our Ming royal family. With Third uncle arranging the border affairs, I have nothing to worry about!"

Zhu Gang immediately became pleased, he thought so too. As the most respected vassal king in the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Gang did bear heavy responsibilities, and he had been busy with the affairs of the northwest border in recent years.

Zhu Chong immediately complained, "When your fourth uncle comes back, I want to see whether your third uncle is the pillar or your fourth uncle is the pillar!"

Zhu Gang restrained his smile. He and the fourth prince Zhu Di disliked each other. Both of them considered themselves to be the wisest princes of the Ming royal family and the ones who could share the most worries of the court. They had indeed done a lot of great things.

The second elder brother only holds the position of the leader among the kings. Not to mention the recent years, even in the previous years combined, he has not done anything of great importance. He just suppressed a few rebellions.

Neither Zhu Gang nor Zhu Di cared much about Zhu Cong's suppression of the rebellion. It was really not worth mentioning. They were chasing the enemy and fighting the Mongols.

Zhu Yunhuan couldn't help but look at Zhu Chong. He was really annoyed with his second uncle who was adding fuel to the fire. He still wanted to keep things fair, but now that it was brought up in front of his third uncle, how could he keep things fair?
Zhu Chong was not unaware of Zhu Yunhuan's displeasure. Instead, he was even more gloating. "My dear nephew, your third uncle guards the northwest and divides the pastures, while your fourth uncle controls Beiping and guards the south of the desert. Which one is more useful to you?"

Zhu Yunxun immediately said unhappily, "Second Uncle, I am not the eldest nephew! I have an older brother and a second brother. If we really talk about age, Gao Chi is a month older than me. Now Ji Hui is your eldest nephew!"

Zhu Chong was not fooled and said, "The Prince of Wulin doesn't count after all. He doesn't recognize me as his second uncle, so how can I recognize him as my nephew? You are the eldest son and the grandson, so how can you not be the eldest nephew?"

It seems to be true to say so. After all, Zhu Yunwen is the son of Zhu Biao, and Zhu Chong and others did not like Zhu Yunwen before.

But Zhu Yunhuan would not be fooled. "Jihui, Gao Chi and I grew up together. Even Shang Bing studied with us. If the division is so clear, are we still brothers?"

Zhu Gang came to the rescue and said, "Second brother, if the emperor hears this, you should go back to Fengyang. The seventh brother must be lonely farming alone in his hometown, so you can go back and help him, since you have farmed before!"

Zhu Chong rolled his eyes at Zhu Gang unhappily. The life of farming in his hometown in the past two years was simply a nightmare. Zhu Chong obviously did not want to go through this again and was definitely not happy about it.

Although there were some jokes, there were some topics that no longer needed to be discussed. Everyone tacitly stopped mentioning whether the Prince of Jin or the Prince of Yan was the most respected vassal prince in the Ming Dynasty.

However, if placed in the court, most people would still believe that Prince Jin was the barrier of the Ming royal family and the vassal prince most trusted by the emperor.

As for whether the Prince of Jin will still be the most favored one after the new emperor ascends the throne, perhaps there will be changes by then, but there is no need to be too serious about it at this stage, and let's wait and see how things will develop in the future.

Speaking of happiness, Old Zhu is undoubtedly happy. Now his favorite sons have returned to Yingtian Prefecture one after another, so of course he feels happy.

Especially these sons have made some progress in the past few years. Although there are still things that require worry occasionally, overall they have made considerable progress and are much more reliable than in the early years, which is good.

What's more, seeing that his sons had a very close relationship with Zhu Yunhuan, he was naturally more happy and relieved, and there was no need to worry that Yunhuan's throne would be unstable in the future. After all, when he appointed the grandson, Zhu was also worried that the second sons would be dissatisfied. After all, theoretically, the second son had a greater chance according to etiquette.

Now that the second child doesn't care about these things anymore, of course, Old Zhu will feel happy and relieved. Even though the second child has done a lot of bad things, he is not stupid when it comes to big things.

Zhu Wenyao was the happiest when he saw Zhu Chong and Zhu Gang with beards, "Ah!"

"Your nephew likes to pull people's beards. He has almost pulled my beard out." Old Zhu said cheerfully, "Don't underestimate him because he is small. He has a lot of strength in his hands."

Zhu Gang said cheerfully, "Father is the one who takes good care of him. Our nephew's arms and legs are as tender as little lotus roots. I just like looking at this chubby baby. I like him whenever I see him."

Old Zhu smiled and said, "Of course you like it. You are all grandfathers now. But second brother, you should urge Shang Bing. You are the second brother, but the third and fourth brothers got ahead of you."

Zhu Chong had no choice. Compared with his brothers, he had a son a little later. His son was younger, so it was normal for him to have no grandchildren to hold him.

As for the seniority, there was no need to worry about it. Who stipulated that the second oldest brother had to be the grandfather before the third and fourth oldest brothers? Besides, even if it was a nephew who came to visit, wouldn't he still have to perform the proper etiquette?

Old Zhu brought up the old matter again and said, "I just told Old Five and Old Six a few days ago that you are not allowed to pay homage to the emperor next year. When the new emperor ascends the throne, you are not allowed to pay homage to the emperor for three years."

Zhu Gang said somewhat unhappily, "Father, as sons, how can we not come to see you? This is inappropriate."

"There's nothing wrong with it. Yun Hu and I are all fine. We just need to set rules for our future generations." Old Zhu said, "Born in an imperial family, you should be aware of these things."

Zhu Gang naturally did not say much, because as a son of a man, not being allowed to come to the pilgrimage would definitely make him unhappy. But as a minister, he had to accept such an arrangement.

What's more, now that it's been said so clearly, all of this is for the consideration of future generations, so the rules naturally need to be established. This is not a matter of being happy or unhappy.

Old Zhu said with a smile, "I know you guys have said in private that if I really leave, I probably won't know some things. If you really want to attend the funeral, Yunxun will allow you to come, and I won't be able to control it then."

Zhu Yunhuan was speechless. He looked at Old Zhu and asked, "Grandfather, how many of yours truly are still around me? How did what I said to my uncle in private get to your ears?"

Old Zhu glanced at Zhu Yunhuan, then smiled and said to Zhu Chong and Zhu Gang, "We have someone with Yunhuan, we know whatever wine we want to know, don't you agree?"

Zhu Chong and Zhu Gang were in tears. Over the years, they had never dared to express the slightest dissatisfaction towards the Crown Prince, and had even shown their support everywhere.

However, my father is still the same as before. Whenever he gets the chance, he will give me a beating. He really doesn't give me any face at all.

These things are simply unreasonable, and there is no way to delve into the truth or falsity of these words. The more you think about them, the more you are adding to your own troubles.

Zhu Yunhuan was used to it. His grandfather had always been like this, and this kind of situation had happened more than once or twice. He had experienced it a little more and was used to it.

The elderly are stubborn about some things. There seem to be some changes in recent years, but the habits formed over decades are difficult to completely change. There is no need to seriously analyze whether the meaning behind their words is true or false.

After all, the one who will benefit in the end is the Crown Prince Zhu Yunhuan. It is best for him to make a fortune quietly now, instead of taking advantage of others and acting like a good kid, as that would make him a laughing stock.

The chubby Zhu Wenyao became restless again and kept twisting in Old Zhu's arms. It was indeed a bit difficult to hold this lively fat baby.

"Yun Hun summoned you back this time not to scare you, but to give you a benefit." Old Zhu said with a smile, "You are going to be grandfathers now, you don't need to worry about your son, you should think about your grandchildren."

At this point Zhu Chong and Zhu Gang became serious. This was not only a matter concerning their grandson, but it also primarily involved their own interests, so of course they needed to pay full attention to it.

On the other hand, since Zhu Yunhuan was named the Crown Prince, the treatment and status of the royal family kings have changed, whether it was Zhu Yunhuan's intention or his own.

Every two years, he would mess with the royal family and find a reason to slightly reduce their treatment and power. This would definitely make Zhu Chong and others unhappy.

After all, they had some power in their hands before, and they wouldn't have expected too much when they didn't have it. But now that they have it, they will definitely be unhappy to let it go.

Not only Old Zhu could see through some of Zhu Chong and Zhu Gang's thoughts, Zhu Yunhuan could naturally see through them as well and could understand them to some extent.

But understanding is one thing, and what needs to be done must still be done. Some things really cannot be changed by the will of the royal princes, and some strategies formulated at the beginning need to be implemented resolutely.

This is not only good for Zhu Yunhuan, but also for the royal family. Reducing certain hidden dangers will not harm anyone, and it is also good news for the Ming Dynasty.

Old Zhu said cheerfully, "Well, we don't care about these things. Now the political affairs are handled by Yun Hun. You can just go and discuss it with him, and let me know afterwards."

Zhu Chong and Zhu Gang had no objection, as they had long been accustomed to it. The news that their father did not care about government affairs was not only known to everyone in Yingtian Prefecture, but also to Xi'an and Taiyuan.

The Ming Dynasty is now headed by the Crown Prince, and many political affairs are handled by this Crown Prince.

This naturally means that some of the things that happen next will definitely be the Crown Prince's ideas, and we can only follow his arrangements.

Although it may not be possible to change many things, we still have to fight for what we should fight for. The royal princes are not without any demands. They also have their own positions and persistence. (End of this chapter)