Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Chapter 67: Spy Chief
Everyone was very busy, and several great nobles jointly submitted a memorial to the emperor hoping that he would order the troops to return to the capital, which was also recognized by many civil servants.

Duke Lan Yu of Liang is too warlike, it is time for him to return to the court. However, there are also rumors that these nobles also submitted memorials at the instruction of the emperor's grandson Zhu Yunhuan.

Regardless of whether the news is true or false, many people have known these days that the enthronement of the Crown Prince is unstoppable. Many things are proceeding in an orderly manner, and preparations for the enthronement ceremony have also begun.

Previously, Zhu Yunhuan had risen to prominence, sweeping away his previous reputation as a dandy and gaining some presence in the court. In addition, the emperor had made a final decision in the court a few days ago on the difference between legitimate and illegitimate children, as well as the ceremony of presiding over the sacrifice to the crown prince.

All of this is the best proof, not to mention that the emperor's grandson has already begun to simply observe government affairs in the Wenhua Hall.

These are the best signals. Now not only is the candidate for the Crown Prince clear, but everyone knows that there will be no surprises. Now they are just waiting for the enthronement ceremony.

However, some people also suggested that the grandson of the emperor, Zhu Yunhuan, should return to Fengyang, the imperial hometown, to worship his ancestors before being canonized. This also has some precedents. In the past, many princes had to return to Fengyang before being canonized.

But Zhu Yuanzhang refused without hesitation and even severely reprimanded the minister who made the suggestion.

The situation was different at that time. The Crown Prince had not yet been formally appointed, and many of the princes and grandchildren were in Beijing. How could Zhu Yunhuan be allowed to return to the imperial hometown? Even if he wanted to go back to worship his ancestors, he should have been appointed, and then led the civil and military officials and the royal family to return to his hometown to hold a grand sacrifice, just like the Crown Prince Zhu Biao did back then.

Anyone can see that the emperor is now seeking stability and does not want any accidents to happen at this juncture.

It's better to be safe. If something unexpected happens at this critical moment, things will be really chaotic.

Some are happy and some are sad, and Huang Zicheng is the sad one.

After being imprisoned, it was difficult for him to get news from the outside world, but he always had a bad feeling.

From the reactions of the jailers, it can be seen that although they were not abused, they did not care and were not flattering. What does this mean? This means that the grandson Zhu Yunwen, who he regarded as a saintly ruler, has no chance.

Now that he has been released and become a ninth-rank professor, he must immediately leave Beijing for Hangzhou to take up his post.

There is no prince in Hangzhou, so Huang Zicheng himself knows exactly what this newly appointed professor is supposed to do.

I want to cry but I have no tears. Not only is my career ruined, but the candidate I favored cannot become the crown prince. If a few years pass, I wonder if I, a ninth-rank professor, will have the opportunity to become the fifth-rank chief historian of the prince's palace.

Even though he felt that his talent was not appreciated and his ambitions were stillborn, he could only accept the appointment from the Ministry of Personnel and head to Hangzhou under the supervision of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Huang Zicheng was extremely depressed, and the Minister of Personnel Zhan Hui was also extremely depressed.

He was very worried that he would be killed when the grandson was enthroned. He had tried to submit his resignation before, but was rejected without hesitation by the emperor. He wanted to commit suicide, but he didn't have the courage.

Even when he reported to the Wenhua Palace, the emperor's grandson had a cold attitude, but he did not say anything hurtful.

All this gave Zhan Hui some opportunities and hope, but he was still anxious.

Zhu Yunhuan didn't want to deal with Zhan Hui right now. First, he didn't have that much power. Second, Zhan Hui, the head of the civil service, was picked out in a major case, which was the way to "make the best use of his talents".

Executing him on a random charge of a minor crime was really unworthy of Zhan Hui's status as the Minister of Personnel and the Left Censor-in-Chief.

Carefully reading the memorials reviewed by Old Zhu is part of Zhu Yunhuan's current study. How to quickly and accurately find the key points from the memorials, and while coming up with a response plan, it is also necessary to verify the accuracy of the things reported in the memorials.

These are all things that Zhu Yunhuan should learn. He even needs to consider the consistency of some policies and cannot change his orders every day, otherwise it will cause trouble for officials and put the people in a dilemma.

Even if Zhu Yunhuan did not intend to completely continue Zhu's governance philosophy, some core things could not be easily changed.

Just as Zhu Yunhuan was thinking deeply, Zhang Fusheng carefully reported, "Your Highness, Jinyiwei Commander Jiang Li wants to see you."

"Jiang Li?" Zhu Yunxun was stunned for a moment, "Xuan."

Jiang Li was the second commander of the Jinyiwei after Mao Xiang. In history, he accused Lan Yu of treason, implicated the Thirteen Marquises and the Second Earl, not to mention Fu Youde and Feng Sheng, who were also implicated.

Even though he knew that Jiang Li launched such a major case at the instruction of Zhu, Zhu Yunhuan was still a little curious at this moment.

Jiang Li did not have the sinister look of a spy chief. With his regular features, he looked strong and powerful, more like a general. "I am Jiang Li, the commander of the Jinyiwei, and I am here to see His Royal Highness the Grandson."

Zhu Yunhuan asked with a smile, "Is it Grandfather's wish that you come to see me?"

Jiang Li replied politely, "Your Highness, I am here to see you, Your Highness, as ordered by your Highness."

"That's fine." Zhu Yunhuan said with a smile, "If you come here without an imperial decree, I will have no choice but to kill you to prove my innocence."

Jiang Li was terrified by Zhu Yunhuan's joke and said, "I dare not!"

Zhu Yunhuan continued to ask, "Grandfather asked you to come here, what's the matter?"

Jiang Li replied politely, "Your Majesty only told me to obey Your Highness' orders."

Zhu Yunhuan thought for a moment and asked, "What about Zhu Zhong? Or does he have another use for his post as Jinyiwei Zhenfushi?"

Jiang Li bravely said, "Your Highness, Governor Zhu doesn't know as much as I do."

Zhu Yunxun laughed, "Well, it seems that you, the commander of the Jinyiwei, also know your limits. After all, you are the commander, and it doesn't make sense if you know less than the pacification envoy."

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Jiang Lin and asked, "Your Majesty, did you tell me what you don't want me to know?"

Jiang Li immediately replied, "Your Majesty did not mention it, but just told me to obey Your Majesty's orders."

Zhu Yunhuan knew what was going on. No matter whether what Jiang Lin said was true or false, the power he possessed on the surface seemed very great.

"How about this, sort out all the illegal acts of the royal family and nobles and send them here. Report all those who have disregarded human lives and occupied the land of the people." Zhu Yunhuan said directly, "For civil officials above the fourth rank, report any illegal acts they find. Order the Jinyiwei in all places to strictly investigate the families of civil officials, and report immediately if there are any cases of occupying the land of the people or forming cliques."

Jiang Li's heart skipped a beat, but he still replied respectfully, "I obey your order."

"Don't make a big fuss, or people will think you're going to search the whole country again." Zhu Yunxun reminded, "I'm only asking you to investigate, not to interrogate or arrest, do you understand?"

Jiang Li immediately replied, "I understand."

You have to understand that in the past few years when the Jinyiwei were the most notorious, the royal family might not care so much. But the civil and military officials were all nervous when they saw the Jinyiwei. These Jinyiwei also tortured prisoners and fabricated many cases.

Jiang Li himself didn't believe that there were no accusations or injustices.

After Jiang Li left, Zhu Yunxun couldn't help laughing, "I didn't expect that the first person to be sent over was actually the Jinyiwei!"

At this stage, Zhu Yunhuan is still in the learning stage and has no real power. Even though many people say that he has a close relationship with the nobles, which is true, those nobles dare not listen to Zhu Yunhuan in official matters.

The same was true for government offices at all levels. Even when Zhu Yunhuan was asked to recognize people and government offices, he just obeyed and did not follow orders.

Now something different is happening. Even Zhu Yunhuan may not be able to command the Jinyiwei. But he has begun to let the Jinyiwei start to work, and has begun to contact this secret agency.

But if you think about Zhu Yuanzhang's character, Zhu Yunhuan can completely understand it.

The thing that Zhu Yuanzhang feared most was being deceived, and he was also worried that his descendants would not know what was happening outside the palace. Therefore, the existence of the Jinyiwei was very important, and they were not just there to arrest officials.

He certainly couldn't do something that would make him lose his own eyes and ears. Zhu Yunhuan had no intention of abandoning the Jinyiwei just because he was fooled by some people with ulterior motives.

At most, the Jinyiwei needs certain restrictions and supervision, otherwise this secret agency will indeed have the potential to become a deformed monster.

The Jinyiwei must be used and valued, but they also need to be used with caution!

(End of this chapter)