Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Chapter 36 The Dandy's Ideal

Looking at Zhu Yunhuan, Old Zhu felt more and more that his grandson had pretended to be a dandy and had deceived everyone.

Old Zhu certainly wouldn't believe that a thirteen-year-old child could have such insight!
Old Zhu did not believe in the so-called child prodigy, nor did he believe that Zhu Yunhuan was born with knowledge. All of this must have been taught by someone. The Crown Princess Lu would definitely not teach Zhu Yunhuan these things, and the scholars in the main hall would not teach these things either.

The only one who has such insight and is willing to teach in this way is the perfect crown prince in his family.

Many people in the court knew about the conflict between the north and the south, but they were unwilling to face it, especially some civil officials, who felt that if the northerners gained influence in the court, it would affect their interests.

Zhu Yunhuan's proposal of the North-South List was something that Zhu naturally thought was a good idea. However, how to perfect this matter required careful consideration and an opportunity.

Old Zhu looked at Zhu Yunhuan with satisfaction and said, "You can say this here, don't say it outside."

"I'm not stupid. I won't offend anyone if I say it." Zhu Yunhuan responded with a smile, "My reputation was too bad before, and now I'm trying to make up for it. In the main hall, I still pretended to study hard and discussed scriptures and doctrines with my brothers."

Old Zhu laughed happily and said, "That's right! That's right! Whether you like those scholars or not, there has to be a way. To govern the world, those people have to help us."

Old Zhu immediately became serious and said, "If you want to seize the throne, you have to get closer to the civil officials. Look at you interacting with nobles every day, and the civil officials are trembling in their hearts."

Zhu Yunxun said, "Nowadays, the nobles are very powerful. Besides, I just don't associate with them. Do other people forget my origins?"

Old Zhu stressed the point, "Your father is close to the nobles in his heart, but on the surface he is kind and generous and values ​​scholars."

"That's him. I see he is close to the nobles, but I don't think he wants military men to rule the country." Zhu Yunhuan said, "Whether they are civil officials or nobles, they are all ministers of the court. I say both civil and military officials should be used and governed. It is definitely not okay to value civil officials over military officials like in the Song Dynasty, and it is also not okay to have military generals take turns to usurp the country like in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms."

Zhu Yunhuan also continued, "You thought of Yunwen before, didn't you think he was kind and capable of ruling the world? If I become the crown prince, I'm afraid that I will be sidelined by the nobles."

Old Zhu nodded and said, "Do you know who Lan Yu is? He is good at leading troops in battle, but he is domineering. He dared to occupy people's land and drive away the censors. He also dared to do whatever he wanted after a great victory. Relying on his great achievements and drinking a little, he dared to attack the city gate of our Daming!"

This is something that cannot be excused. Lan Yu’s military talent was indeed great, but he also did a lot of ridiculous things.

Old Zhu was confident that Lan Yu could not do anything in his hands, and he was also very loyal to Crown Prince Zhu Biao.

But if it was a 13-year-old emperor who had a reputation as a dandy, no matter how loyal Lan Yu was, there was no guarantee that he would not have other ideas!
Old Zhu sighed and said, "Over the years, he has been dissatisfied with this and that. Tiande is gone, Baoer is gone too. There is no one in the Five Military Commander's Office that Lan Yu can look down upon. Now he is eyeing the position of the Three Dukes, and he cannot be lower than Fu Youde!"

Zhu Yunhuan did not refute. His great-uncle had abilities but also many flaws.

Seeing that it was almost time, Lao Zhu asked someone to serve the meal.

Seeing Zhu Yunhuan's good appetite, Old Zhu was very pleased, "You are just like me back then, with a big appetite and a lot of food."

Zhu Yunhuan swallowed the food and said, "It's okay. I can eat my fill now."

Old Zhu said, "We worked so hard to conquer the world. We never thought about becoming an emperor. We just wanted to survive and leave some blood for our Zhu family. We dare not even think about becoming an emperor!"

Old Zhu was a little curious, "You see, you are a dandy, you have a lot of knowledge. You didn't become famous before, because you were afraid of Lu?"

"Why should I be afraid of her?" Zhu Yunwen said directly, "Even if Yunwen becomes the emperor in the future, he will still have to posthumously confer the title of Empress Dowager on my mother. When he was born, he was registered under my mother's name!"

Old Zhu was so angry that he blew his beard and glared, but he couldn't refute it.

Because that was the fact. When Zhu Yunwen was born, his mother was Princess Chang. Zhu Yunwen said, "I didn't think about those things before. I thought I could have fun anyway. What's so good about being an emperor? I get up earlier than chickens and sleep later than dogs. If I were a Taiping prince, I would go to Hangzhou. I would travel around the mountains and rivers, watch the Qianjiang River tide, visit the West Lake, drink and have fun in the palace, and watch singing and dancing. When I'm in a good mood, I would take my slaves to tease young girls and wives. That's what it's like!"

Old Zhu's face suddenly darkened, "Is this your ambition?"

"I've thought about it. This must be the dream of many people!" Zhu Yunxun said with a beaming face. "Grandfather, think about it. If I become a prince, there will definitely not be many laws to govern me, as long as I'm not too evil. Hangzhou is good. It's not a bitter and cold place, and it's rich. I'm sure I'll have fun there!"

Zhu's face turned even darker, and he said angrily, "If you don't fight now, you can still be an emperor in the future. When the time comes, I will let you be the King of Wu. If you want to go to Hangzhou, go to Hangzhou. If you want to go to Suzhou, go to Suzhou. I will also issue a will, and the successor emperor shall not punish the King of Wu for seeking pleasure!"

Zhu Yunxun chuckled, "King of Wu? Didn't you give it to your fifth uncle before?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was the King of Wu before founding the country. After the founding of the country, he gave the title of King of Wu to Zhu Su, and then changed it to King of Zhou.

But no matter what, the title of King of Wu has a very special meaning in the Ming Dynasty.

Old Zhu stared into Zhu Yunwen's eyes and said, "If you become the King of Wu, you brothers won't have to fight. You can go and have fun as a playboy, and let Yunwen rule the world."

Zhu Yunhuan said with a playful smile, "If my father were still alive, I would become the King of Wu. Without my father, Yunhuan cannot protect the world."

Old Zhu got angry and asked, "Do you really look down on Yun Wen?"

I really despise him, but the point is that I don't want to be implicated because of him and be locked up in Fengyang!
When he became emperor, I was to be named the King of Wu and establish a vassal state in Hangzhou. But before I could establish a vassal state, my fourth uncle demoted me to a prince of a county and imprisoned me in Fengyang.

You think that the benevolent Yunwen became the emperor, and he was determined to restore the past and changed the names of the palaces. He did have some benevolent policies, but this idealist was cruel to his own family!
The fifth uncle was captured and demoted to a cripple, while the kings of Qi, Dai, and Min were deposed and imprisoned in Fengyang. The chivalrous fourteenth uncle was forced into a corner and rode a white horse with weapons in hand into the burning Xiang Palace. The fourth uncle pretended to be crazy but it was useless, and was forced to rebel.

My good second brother granted amnesty to the whole nation and abolished some harsh laws, but he was merciless to his own family members.

Let him become the emperor, my fifth uncle and the others will be brought out from the high walls of Fengyang, and I will move in!

But I can’t tell Lao Zhu about these things, and even if I tell him, he won’t believe it.

Zhu Yuanzhang, a control freak, was extremely confident in his abilities. He could rise from a commoner to become the founding emperor, so he was not overconfident. He established systems and rules in every aspect, even the clothing, food, housing and transportation of the princes and grandchildren, and even their titles, as if he thought that in this way, the future emperors would definitely be able to protect the world.

But it’s really not like that!
Seeing that Zhu Yunhuan was silent, Old Zhu said, "Okay! What I fear most is that our Zhu family will kill each other for the throne in the future. Okay, you guys are already making trouble before I die."

Seeing Zhu's depression, Zhu Yunhuan said, "Not really. In our Ming Dynasty, the eldest son will take over. When I become the emperor, the eldest son of the Crown Prince Consort or the Queen will definitely be named the Crown Prince."

Old Zhu pointed at the palace gate and said, "Get lost! I'm annoyed just by seeing you!"

The meal was almost finished.

So Zhu Yunhuan took the handkerchief from the eunuch, wiped his mouth, and said, "Sun Chen will take his leave."

When Zhu Yunhuan was about to leave, Old Zhu said, "Change into your crown and robes tomorrow and wait in Fengxian Hall."

Zhu Yunxun was stunned and asked, "Yunxun will go pick up Uncle Wu, I will wait in Fengxian Hall?"

"When you go to pick up your second uncle, Yunwen is also waiting in Fengxian Hall." Old Zhu smiled and said, "You look down on Yunwen and think your uncles can't compete with you. Well, let's see if they look down on a playboy like you!"

(End of this chapter)