Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Chapter 34 The troublesome uncles

The death of Mu Ying, Marquis of Xiping, was a great blow to Zhu Yuanzhang, but in the court, some people felt sorry for it while others did not care.

Mu Ying was only forty-eight years old, which was neither old nor young. Li Wenzhong, Duke of Cao, died when he was forty-six.

What many people are concerned about now is Mu Ying's affairs after his death. Who should guard Yunnan, where Mu Ying is buried, etc. These are all worthy of many people's concern.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang soon returned to the court and ordered that Mu Ying's coffin be sent back to the capital.

Mu Ying’s death is a big event, but the most important thing at the moment is the funeral of Crown Prince Zhu Biao.

The fight for the throne between the two emperor's grandsons, Zhu Yunhuan and Zhu Yunwen, was not made public, but anyone with an eye could see that the fight for the crown prince had already begun.

It’s just that the emperor holds great power, so many things are suppressed to prevent this conflict from completely erupting.

Zhu Yuanzhang had long ago established the system of primogeniture for the selection of the crown prince. Zhu Biao's position had been as solid as a rock for so many years, not only because Zhu Yuanzhang favored him, but also because of the stability of his country.

Relatively stable dynasties such as the Qin and Han Dynasties, the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and even the Song Dynasty all experienced turmoil when the throne was passed, and even lost their country.

What Zhu Yuanzhang wanted was to fundamentally eliminate the risks brought about by the change of imperial power. The system of primogeniture was the best choice, and it was also in line with the universal values ​​of this era.

Zhu Yunwen stayed at the funeral procession in the morning and went to Old Zhu's place in the afternoon.

When Old Zhu saw Zhu Yunwen, he said, "Get ready tomorrow and go out of the city to pick up your fifth uncle."

King Zhu Su of Zhou has already arrived in Yingtian Prefecture and will be able to officially return to Beijing tomorrow.

Zhu Yunwen did not dare to bargain and said, "Sun Chen obeys your order."

Old Zhu asked calmly, "Do you think there is anything wrong with asking you and your uncles to come back?"

Zhu Yunwen certainly felt something was wrong. Zhu Yunhuan's sudden attempt to seize the throne made Zhu Yunwen feel that his position as crown prince was shaken.

It would be even more difficult if the emperor's uncles came back and started fighting.

And even if the imperial uncles did not fight, it would be even worse if they took sides and supported Yunhu.

But now that things have come to this, Zhu Yunwen did not dare to go against the old Zhu's wishes, "When my father was alive, he was very close to the imperial uncles. Now that my father is buried, the imperial uncles should also come to see him off."

Zhu was quite satisfied with this answer. "It's good that you understand this truth. No matter how ridiculous your uncles are, they are still your father's brothers!"

Qin Wang Zhu Chong did a lot of evil in his fiefdom. He built a lot of buildings, tortured palace maids, favored his concubine and killed his wife, made the queen's clothes for his concubine Deng, and made the bed in his room into a five-clawed dragon bed.

He was guilty of many crimes, and Zhu Yuanzhang once wanted to depose the King of Qin, but the Crown Prince defended him.

On his way to his fief, Jin Wang Zhu Gang whipped his cook for a trivial matter, and tied people up and tore them apart with a galloping horse several times in his fiefdom. Zhu was also furious and wanted to abolish Zhu Gang's title of king, but his brother, Crown Prince Zhu Biao, intervened.

Prince of Yan Zhu Di seems to be doing well at the moment. His favorite thing to do is to train troops and have secret conversations with the monk Daoyan and the fortune teller Yuan Gong.

Zhu Su, the King of Zhou, was also a worry, although he was not that cruel. However, he had been a playboy since childhood and had left his fiefdom without permission two years ago and ran to Fengyang. Zhu was so angry that he exiled him to Yunnan, and only allowed him to return to Kaifeng last year.

Another reason is that the Queen of King Zhou was the youngest daughter of Feng Sheng, Duke of Song, and Zhu Su often corresponded with his father-in-law in private.

These princes are not easy to deal with, and they seem to be deliberately creating problems for the emperor.

Seeing the young eunuch bringing the tea, Zhu Yunwen took it with great discernment and put it on the table.

Zhu felt relieved and thought Yunwen was filial. Even though the tea was brewed and served by the palace staff, Yunwen still served the tea himself, which was filial piety.

As for the other grandson, he was unwilling to help and often asked people in the palace to pour him a cup of tea. It is said that he has been drinking tribute tea from various places these days for a change of taste, and no one knows which one he likes.

Lao Zhu felt that he was very far-sighted. In the past, there were tea cakes and tea balls, which were troublesome to make and placed a heavy burden on tea farmers. Lao Zhu now advocates direct brewing, which saves a lot of trouble.

Once the dough is baked, its price is as high as gold.

This saying has existed since the Northern Song Dynasty. This kind of dragon and phoenix cake tea is difficult to make and has a higher price.

Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the group and promoted the disbandment, but tea has been an important part of foreign trade since ancient times. Zhu Yuanzhang still had to levy tea taxes, and he also strictly prohibited tea smuggling.

These practices did increase some taxes for the court. Zhu Yunwen looked at Old Zhu and asked cautiously, "Grandfather, Yunhuan is not going to pick up the fifth uncle?"

Old Zhu glanced at Zhu Yunwen and said with a smile, "He won't be going tomorrow. You have many uncles outside, and they are all back now. You two can take turns to pick him up, so you won't get tired."

Zhu Yunwen really wanted to say that he was not afraid of being tired, and that he could take on the task of welcoming the imperial uncles back to Beijing alone. This was also a rare opportunity to show his abilities.

Unfortunately, this cannot happen now. The Emperor's grandfather seems to be fair and lets the two brothers take turns to receive the gift.

However, Zhu Yunwen also breathed a sigh of relief. He actually didn't like those imperial uncles very much, especially the Prince of Qin and the Prince of Jin, who put a lot of pressure on him.

Zhu Yunwen stayed for a while and then left. Even if he wanted to stay longer, he couldn't because his grandfather said he was busy, so Zhu Yunwen had to leave.

Old Zhu is indeed busy, and has many things to deal with. The prince is gone, and now Old Zhu has to deal with all the big and small things personally.

When the crown prince was in power, all matters were reported to him first, and after his approval, they were sent to the emperor.

It is said that the emperor is in charge, but many people know that it is just a formality. In most cases, the emperor will not refuse the prince's face, and many things are the prince's ideas.

But now it is no longer possible. The emperor has to deal with all these matters personally. Without the crown prince to share the pressure, there will be no prime minister to do these things well.

Towards evening, Zhu Yunhuan came to ask for a meeting, and this time he would not be kept out.

Zhu Yunhuan stood for a while and asked, "Grandfather, can I see the memorial?"

Old Zhu glared at Zhu Yunhuan and said, "No! If you are really filial, grind ink for us!"

This made Zhu Yunhuan a little embarrassed. He said honestly, "I can't do this well. I can't even write well."

Old Zhu snorted coldly. He had no conditions to read and write when he was a child, but he practiced hard after joining the army.

Although it cannot be called calligraphy, Lao Zhu's handwriting is natural and fluent, and his demeanor is lively. Some people think that the strokes are a little lacking in rules, but there is still uprightness in the elegance and clumsiness.

Even if you don't have the conditions, you should create them and work hard to make progress. However, my own grandson has such good conditions, but his handwriting is as bad as ghostwriting. It is simply unbearable to look at.

Fortunately, I can still read, but my handwriting is ugly.

Zhu Yunhuan was waiting boredly while Zhu was reviewing the memorials. Zhu Yunhuan would not read the memorials himself if Zhu was not allowed to do so. He did not have such privileges now.

Old Zhu suddenly said, "Your fifth uncle is coming back. Let's arrange for Yun Wen to pick him up."

Zhu Yunhuan really couldn’t help it, Yunwen and his fifth uncle?

Old Zhu was puzzled and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

Zhu Yunxun said hurriedly, "I didn't say anything. I just felt that Yunwen would feel uncomfortable and uneasy when he met Uncle Wu."

Zhu Yunwen had always held himself to Confucian standards since childhood, and he was always very strict and emphasized various etiquette, etc. However, his fifth uncle, not to mention being a playboy since childhood, was also the one who had no idea about etiquette and laws.

Old Zhu thought about it and couldn't help laughing, "Our little son was also spoiled by your royal grandmother."

Since Zhu led his army across the Yangtze River, he had seven sons. The eldest son was named Biao, followed by Tang, Tang, Di, Tang, Zhen, and Tang. He also had a great-grandson named Wei (Zhu Shouqian, King of Jingjiang).

These children were basically taken care of personally by Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma, but the first five were carefully nurtured by Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma.

However, the youngest son Zhu Su was relatively relaxed in his education, so he was also the most spoiled one. But no matter how spoiled he was, Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma liked him.

It is a good thing for the older sons to be successful, but it is better to be close to the younger sons.

As the youngest son in front of his parents, Lao Zhu felt this even more deeply. When he was a child, no matter how poor his family was, his parents, brothers and sisters spoiled him.

"Yunwen was uncomfortable when he met your fifth uncle, so you met your second and third uncles and see how they react." Old Zhu said, "You are a smart person and you understand people's hearts better than Yunwen. Let's be frank, your second and third uncles can't make us worry-free!"

Zhu Yunxun smiled and said, "Okay, I'll go pick up the second, third, and fourth uncles, and Yunwen will pick up the fifth and sixth uncles."

A smile appeared in Old Zhu's eyes. If you want to seize the throne, don't be afraid of difficulties!
(End of this chapter)