Daming: I am the Crown Prince

For Zhu Chong and Zhu Gang, it was enough to do their job as vassal kings, and they could only be vassal kings. Including Zhu Di who came later, each of them also played the role of vassal kings guarding one side.

They will not have any unrealistic ideas. The overall situation has been decided. If they still have any wishful thinking now, they will deserve death.

Zhu Yunhuan was in a good mood. If the five most powerful princes of the Ming Dynasty had already entered the capital, these five people would also serve as officials of the Imperial Clan Court.

Even if he is only in name only in charge of the royal family's affairs, at least he has some title and can be considered legitimate, so he can naturally represent the royal family.

Zhu Yunhuan looked at his uncles and said with a smile, "I am a junior, so naturally I should offer a glass of wine to you uncles."

Zhu Chong joked happily, "If it was a banquet at the imperial court, I would stand up and thank you. But now it's a family banquet, and we're all family, so I won't stand up and will just drink it."

Zhu Gang said, "Second brother, even if it was a grand banquet in the court, we were drinking in the side hall. It was impossible for us to be in the same hall with the civil and military officials. If you don't stand up to thank the emperor, no one else will know."

The other people also laughed. Zhu Gang was right. Even if it was a grand banquet of the imperial court, the princes could not attend with the civil and military officials of the court according to the rules. They could only attend in the side hall. The important thing was to participate.

Watching Zhu Yunhuan drink a glass of wine, Zhu Gang said with emotion, "When I met Yunhuan a few years ago, he was still a young boy. Now he has become a father, and he drinks quite heartily."

"Sometimes I just have a few drinks, just with my grandfather." Zhu Yunxun complained, "He can drink a lot, if I don't watch him, he can drink a pot by himself, that won't work!"

Zhu Chong and others didn't know what to say. From childhood to adulthood, they had never dared to say anything about Zhu's choice, nor did they dare to have any opinions on what Zhu was going to do.

These people all knew how much Lao Zhu could drink. A small pot of wine was really nothing, just enough to moisten his throat. But it was really a bit unreasonable to control such a small amount of wine.

Zhu Yunhuan was completely unaware and said with a smile, "Grandfather doesn't drink alcohol now. Wen Yao doesn't like the smell of alcohol. I have tried to persuade him many times but it was useless. Wen Yao has controlled himself even without any persuasion!"

Zhu Chong and others felt even more jealous. It turned out that one's own son was not as important as one's own grandson or great-grandson. They must have been happy just watching him drinking.

The great-grandson just doesn't like the smell, which is basically the same as giving up drinking, and he hasn't complained at all. How can I get justice for this?
Zhu Di was straightforward, so he said, "Yun Hun, father has always been drinking. Although he is old now, it is not a big deal if he drinks less. It is ridiculous to not let him drink!"

Zhu Yunhuan was not angry either. "It's okay to drink a little occasionally. I didn't ask you to stop drinking. Fourth uncle still doesn't understand grandfather. Drinking or not drinking is a trivial matter. Grandfather is most afraid of no one to supervise him, and he hates no one around him the most."

Zhu Di was choked, but couldn't help complaining in his heart. His father was not afraid that no one would control him, but that no one in the world could control him.

It's simply that the emperor now values ​​Yunhu and Wen Yao, and he cares about these people in his heart, so he is so friendly and those who drink or not are happy to be controlled.

Zhu Chong became serious, "Yunhuan, you asked us to come back this time, it must be something big. You can't be in a hurry to do the thing you talked about last year, right?"

The other princes also took it seriously. In fact, they had briefly mentioned it last year, and they all knew that Zhu wanted to pass on the throne. But it was said to be the end of the year, could it be that they were preparing to do it in advance?
"Of course this trip is not like that. I guess we have to wait until after my birthday." Zhu Yunhuan said with a smile, "It will probably be in the twelfth month. It will only take a month or two before we start preparing."

Zhu Yunhuan's words made Zhu Chong and others feel jealous. At the beginning, their father was impatient to establish the crown prince, fearing that these sons would have some ideas.

Now that Yunhu has gained experience, he is in a hurry to pass on the throne, as if the throne that he has been dreaming of is so hot.

The princes had no right to say much about the inheritance of the throne. No matter what they thought in their hearts, the matter was basically settled, and there was no doubt about it.

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Zhu Di and said with a smile, "Fourth uncle, if you count the days, Gao Chi will also become a father next year. It is true that my nephew will be the Prince of Yan in the future, but Gao Chi will definitely not be just one heir."

Zhu Di smiled happily. Although he did like Zhu Gaoxu more, it did not mean that he was dissatisfied with the Prince of Yan. The position of Prince of Yan could only be given to Gao Chi.

Zhu Yunhuan continued, "However, Gao Xu and Gao Sui can only be princes in the future. Their other descendants will be generals guarding the country."

The other princes also became serious. According to the rules set by the Ming Dynasty, the throne can only be passed on to the eldest son. The other sons will be demoted to the rank of prince, and so on.

Zhu Yunhuan continued, "According to current rules, the general guarding the country is a first-rank military officer, with an annual salary of 1,000 dan. This is a lot of money, and ordinary people definitely can't afford it."

Everyone knew this, as one thousand koku was nothing in the eyes of the princes, because their annual salaries were much higher, and their annual salaries were measured in "wan".

But to be realistic, such an annual salary is more than enough, not to mention supporting a whole family. It also means that one can truly have no worries about food and clothing and enjoy a life of luxury.

Not counting the lineage of Prince Jingjiang, the fourth generation of the Ming Dynasty's royal family has also been born one after another, and many third-generation imperial grandchildren are also being born one after another. Everyone is aware of this.

They are naturally aware of the treatment they receive. Except for the eldest son, each generation is worse than the previous one. There is nothing to say about it.

Even though the treatment of these royal family members seems to be declining, it is still better than that of ordinary people. But who doesn't want their descendants to have a better life? Of course, they want higher treatment.

Judging from what Zhu Yunhuan had done in the past few years, the princes obviously did not think that he would improve the treatment of the royal family. Constantly cutting supplies and weakening their status was what Zhu Yunhuan continued to do.

Seeing the doubts of the uncles, Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "Uncles, you should also know that the royal family has a different status after all, and some things are indeed not easy for them to do."

Zhu Chong and others remained silent. The status of the royal family was born rich and noble, and there was nothing to say about it. In the short term, it was inevitable that they would have no worries about food and clothing, and there seemed to be nothing wrong with this.

However, the identity of royal family also has some natural restrictions. Zhu Chong and others have begun to restrain themselves a lot in recent years and have started to be careful in what they say and do.

The reason is nothing more than not wanting to cause trouble for themselves. They also know that once some people start impeachment, they will be passive. When the time comes, the yellow mud will fall into the crotch, and it will be shit if it is not shit.

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "Uncles, you should also know that the princes guard one side, but the court has been slowly taking back the military power in recent years." Zhu Chong and others looked unhappy, but they had nothing to say. The fifth brother's military power was basically taken away in a peaceful manner, and the banner was that the court was dredging the canal and there were not enough soldiers and guards.

Zhu Chong and Zhu Di thought about it carefully and realized that they were not much better. If the imperial court wanted to take back the military power, they could almost copy the same reason, and they would have no choice but to carry out the order.

The border was peaceful, and the nobles no longer had military power, so it was normal for the court to take back the three guards that nominally belonged to the princes. Even the three guards of the princes were basically the troops of the court.

It would be increasingly difficult to get access to military power in the future, or even impossible to do so. Even if you were given military power, you couldn't just reach out and take it, as that would be a disaster.

Zhu Yunhuan continued, "I have thought about this before. The royal family cannot just eat, drink and have fun. They should also do things. However, military power is not easy to touch, and we need to be cautious about government affairs."

Zhu Chong and others listened carefully. After all, it was because of the special status of the royal family that the emperor would not allow them to have too much say in the court, let alone hold high positions and hold great power.

If a member of the royal family who was similar to the prime minister appeared, the emperor would probably be unable to sleep at night. How could he really allow a member of the royal family to hold power?

It is a consensus among many people that the royal family can be given good treatment, but they must not be given more power.

Zhu Di in history did an even more extreme thing in this matter, directly blocking the possibility of the royal family wanting to do anything. They could not be officials or do business, and they had to wait for birth, old age, sickness and death except for eating, drinking and having fun.

Historical experience shows that we must be on guard against members of the royal family and relatives by marriage, because these people have certain inherent advantages, and if they are not restricted, they may naturally cause unrest.

But on the other hand, the royal family and relatives by marriage are also an extremely powerful force that can balance the situation in the court.

In history, the royal family of the Ming Dynasty only had some power in the early days of the founding of the country, and then quickly became an insignificant existence, or even became a group that was directly ignored by many people.

Civil officials, nobles, eunuchs, and even large business groups, all of these people can influence the court and the situation of the Ming Dynasty. However, the royal family has no influence at all, and is constantly despised and suppressed.

This was obviously inappropriate, and Zhu Yunhuan did not want such a thing to happen again.

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Zhu Chong and the others and slowly said, "I think my uncles know that the court gained a lot from this voyage. The case that Fifth Uncle tried before was that some merchants and gentry tried to collude with each other."

Zhu Su also spoke up, "These people are really well-intentioned. Many of them went out to sea privately during the Mongol Yuan Dynasty and accumulated a lot of wealth. This has opened my eyes. Those people's family backgrounds are indeed solid."

Some merchants have accumulated a good fortune, which may be the result of the efforts of several generations. But in today's era, it is definitely not a good thing for merchants to be too rich. The overall atmosphere nowadays is to emphasize agriculture and suppress business.

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and continued, "That's the truth. Those people saw some benefits and thought they had an opportunity. This is really stupid. How can the benefits of the court be taken away by those people!"

This was what Zhu Yunhuan thought in his heart. If maritime trade was opened, the greatest profits should belong to the imperial court, rather than allowing a few sea merchants to become as rich as a country.

If these businessmen were too rich and had considerable power, they would not only focus on business, but might have other demands.

That would obviously be even more inappropriate, and Zhu Yunhuan would never allow such a thing.

Seeing that all the brothers were looking at him, Zhu Su said, "Some officials are also not decent. They are appointed by the court, but they still think about their clans and the land and gold and silver sent to them. They are corrupt and pervert the law. Some of them think about reporting to the censors, thinking about linking up with more officials, and thinking about imitating the Mongols in maritime trade."

Zhu Chong and others did not quite understand, and Zhu Su also briefly explained the Maritime Customs and maritime trade system during the Yuan Dynasty.

To be honest, the Sibu Si in the early Yuan Dynasty managed maritime trade quite well, but corruption is often found in bureaucratic institutions.

So when Pu Shougeng is mentioned, Zhu Chong and others will know him. He was an official businessman in the Southern Song Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty. He was a real wealthy businessman who was both an official and a businessman. He was the official who managed the Quanzhou Maritime Customs.

Zhu Chong and others quickly became more distrustful of some Jiangnan gentry and officials. They felt that those people had ulterior motives and wanted to emulate Pu Shougeng. That was unacceptable!

Zhu Yunhuan said, "I asked my uncles to come back this time because I wanted to make a lot of money from the maritime trade. The court will naturally take the benefits, but the royal family and the nobles must not be forgotten."

Zhu Chong immediately asked, "Yun Hun, I heard that the fleet had returned. How much benefit did they gain?"

Zhu Yunhuan laughed and said casually, "This is not a serious business. Those people went out to fight. They killed many people and destroyed many cities, so they seized a lot of spoils."

Zhu Chong and others did not believe it. Perhaps what Zhu Yunhuan said was true. Some of the items here were indeed captured, military merits, etc., which everyone could understand.

But they are all knowledgeable about military affairs. If there were really a lot of captured spoils, those soldiers would definitely hide some of them in private. Many people turned a blind eye to this.

Zhu Yunhuan said, "It is difficult to expect the maritime trade to double the income of the royal palaces. However, if the generals who guard the country do it, they can earn an extra 1,000 dan and several hundred taels of silver a year."

Zhu Chong and others immediately became interested. The princes were also short of money, especially now that many royal family members were beginning to pursue pleasure, and of course they wanted as much gold, silver and jewelry as possible.

Now that I have heard that there is an opportunity to make more money and get more benefits, it would be unacceptable if I did not take this matter seriously.

Especially since the Crown Prince Zhu Yunhuan had been suppressing the royal family for many years, and now he is actively giving benefits, it seems unbelievable when others tell them about it!

This matter must be treated with caution! (End of this chapter)