Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Chapter 95 Sing and Harmony

Seeing Zhu Yunhuan busying around, Princess Anqing jokingly said, "Yunhuan, it's time to go to court again tomorrow, right?"

Zhu Yunhuan nodded subconsciously and said, "Grandfather has this intention. There are some things to discuss."

"Back then, my brother was not in a hurry to attend the court. When your eldest brother was born, your father had no reason to refuse." Princess Anqing smiled as she talked about the past. "A few days ago, you said that you don't need to observe government affairs and are not in a hurry to attend the court. Count it yourself, how many times have you attended the court in these days?"

Zhu Yunhuan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly slapped his thigh, "Yes! I have attended the morning court several times in this period! It was agreed that there would be no rush for me to do anything in the next two years, so why are there so many things now?"

Princess Anqing smiled and said what she thought, "I think you are capable. If you are capable, do more!"

Old Zhu was not only cruel to himself, and he also exploited all the civil and military officials. He was not much better to his children and grandchildren, constantly adding burdens to them and intentionally or unintentionally giving them power.

There is only one result of this, which is that the crown prince will have more and more power and his influence on the government will also become greater and greater.

It is obvious that Zhu Yunhuan is like this now. He thinks that he is not in a hurry to do things or observe politics, but for some reason, many things suddenly become his to decide, and he, the crown prince, must know before reporting to the emperor.

A sentence that wakes up the dreamer.

Princess Anqing looked at Zhu Yunhuan and said earnestly, "Your royal grandfather is old, and you are so outstanding, you should do more things. In the past, your royal grandfather could only sleep for two and a half hours a day at most. When your father was around, he shared some of the work, so he could only sleep for three hours. He is already this old, you shouldn't make him so tired!"

Zhu Yunhuan nodded subconsciously, and suddenly looked at Princess Anqing, "Auntie, did you go to Wuying Palace?"

Princess Anqing immediately turned around to take care of other things. She felt sorry for her nephew, but also for her old father. Moreover, her nephew was the crown prince, so she had to take the initiative in some things.

Although Princess Anqing sometimes felt that Zhu was too anxious and that Zhu Yunhuan had a lot of power, she still listened to him and helped to persuade him from time to time.

Watching Princess Anqing leave, Zhu Yunhuan became even more puzzled. "I thought I had done enough. Is this not enough?"

At around five in the morning, Zhu Yunhuan was called up. He quickly washed up, had some breakfast, and hurried to the Fengtian Hall.

It was no longer surprising for civil and military officials to see Zhu Yunhuan, and no one was too surprised that the Crown Prince occasionally began to attend court. It was not necessarily that he would attend court only when there was something important, and the Crown Prince would now also appear at regular court sessions.

Zhu Gang lowered his voice and said, "Nephew, after we make the request, you have to help speak."

Zhu Yunxun nodded and said, "Don't worry, Third Uncle. I will definitely not sit idly by and do nothing."

After the sound of the whip was sounded, Zhu Yunhuan led the civil and military officials into the hall to attend the court. After the officials stood in their respective positions, Zhu Yunhuan went up to the hall.

The Crown Prince naturally stood at the head of the line, but Zhu also intentionally or unintentionally increased Zhu Yunhuan's presence. So now it became Zhu Yunhuan leading all officials to salute, and Zhu Yunhuan singing the ceremony.

Zhu Yunhuan walked out of the worship position, slightly turned sideways and faced the officials, "Kneel!"

All the civil and military officials knelt down and said, "We pay our respects to our emperor. Long live the emperor."

This is also a simplification. If it is an important occasion such as a grand court ceremony or the winter solstice, the formal ritual is to perform five bows and three kowtows.

According to the court rules set by Zhu Yuanzhang, after the morning court began, the Five Military Commanderies and other departments would first report on border military affairs, and only after the military situation was dealt with would he summon envoys or receive officials leaving or going to Beijing.

Then comes the popular and common morning court meeting session, which is all based on rules and nothing can be disrupted.

There was nothing urgent, so it was soon time to report on the matter.

Zhu Gang stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the King of Wulin is a wise man who cares about the court's difficulties. I am honored to be a prince of the court and have received the emperor's grace. I should learn from the good and emulate them. I request to reduce my annual salary, and I hope your majesty will grant my approval."

Zhu Yunhuan, who was standing aside, was listening quietly, but at this moment he couldn't help but twitching the corners of his mouth slightly.

My third uncle is indeed a ghost sometimes, but thinking about what happened to my second brother, it’s not surprising.

No one wants to do anything that offends others, especially offending their own family members. No one wants to be the first to do so.

Zhu Gang was forced into a corner, but it would be good if he could reduce his presence a little. In short, this matter was not initiated by him, the Prince of Jin, but he was forced into a corner by Zhu Yunwen, so he had to step forward.

Old Zhu showed a gratified expression and said, "Prince Jin is virtuous, I am very pleased. Okay, I agree." Zhu Gang could only thank him, even if he was unwilling in his heart, he dared not disobey. Sometimes, as a prince, he could only act like he was willing and cooperate with his father's various performances in the court.

This is also very normal, even if many things have been confirmed in private. But they still need to be put in the court and a series of announcements are made to make it clear to the world.

The reason is that these matters are national affairs, so these procedures are required.

Old Zhu continued, "The court treats the royal family very well, far better than the Tang and Song dynasties. I feel that the annual salary will be up to 10,000 dan, and the grain reserves that the princes are entitled to each year will be paid out in full at the end of October. The princes' money and grain will be distributed in the prefectures of the prince's fiefdoms, and will be paid out according to the prescribed rules and deadlines, and the various government offices cannot shirk their responsibilities."

Zhu Yunhuan took the initiative to step forward and said, "Grandfather, I think the uncles have made great contributions in guarding the border and expanding the territory. There will be many uncles going to the vassal state next year, so I'm afraid 10,000 dan will not be enough."

Some civil and military officials felt jealous. Ten thousand shi were not enough. How much would be enough?
Zhu Yunhuan continued, "I, your Highness, dare to ask you to revoke your order."

Old Zhu looked at Zhu Yunhuan and said sternly, "You are not young anymore. You should know that during the Tang and Song dynasties, the annual salary of the princes of the royal family was less than 5,000 dan. Now the princes of the royal family are given 10,000 dan. Is that not enough? The court does not have much money and grain. How can it support the royal family?"

Zhu Yunhuan gave in and said, "Grandfather, I think the expenses of the uncles' vassalage will be considerable. I beg you to show mercy and reduce the annual salary by only 20,000 dan next year, and then reduce it to 10,000 dan every year."

Zhu Gang looked at his nephew, then at Old Zhu, and felt that he had been cheated. Was it necessary to do this after all the discussion? After all the fuss, wasn't it still going to be reduced to 10,000 shi?
I even thought about dragging it out, but now, my nephew has brought it up directly in the court, and there is no room for delay anymore!

Zhu was silent for a moment, then said, "Okay, next year we will only reduce the amount by 20,000 shi, and the year after that by 10,000 shi, until it reaches 10,000 shi for the royal princes. In three years, the Prince of Jingjiang will receive 8,000 shi and 10,000 strings of cash per year, and the rest will be half of the prince's."

Many civil and military officials didn't know what to say. The Jingjiang King's throne had been abolished, and Zhu Shouqian was gone. But now the emperor's intention was very clear. In two years, he would definitely re-enthrone the Jingjiang King.

Zhu Yunhuan and Zhu Gang immediately expressed their gratitude, both looking very grateful.

Old Zhu then said, "The Prince of Jin has been in the capital for a long time, and it is not appropriate for him to leave his fiefdom for a long time. He will leave for his fiefdom in two days. The Prince of Jin has also reached the age of coming of age, so he should go back with him."

Zhu Gang immediately thanked him and was finally able to go back. Not surprisingly, he was allowed to go back after he set an example by asking for a lower treatment for the royal family.

Zhu Gang thanked him again, and Old Zhu waved his hand, "Prince Jin, leave the court."

Although Zhu Yuanzhang entrusted Zhu Gang with important tasks and ordered him to start planning and overseeing the construction of border areas in the northwest, Zhu Yuanzhang also imposed various restrictions on his third son and absolutely did not allow the Prince of Jin to attend court without reason or contact court officials.

After thanking the emperor, Zhu Gang left the court and glanced at Fengtian Hall. "I almost got caught in a trap! You said Yun Hun was kind-hearted, but he was just holding back and not leaving me any way out!"

It's over. From now on, I can only get 10,000 shi. My procrastination tactics have been discovered. The imperial edict has been issued!
After Jin Wang Zhu Gang left the court, Zhu Yunhuan reported again, "Grandfather, next year, the emperor's uncles will be enfeoffed, most of them will be fortresses and important towns. Please allow Your Majesty to order the Duke of Song to go to the northwest to train troops."

Fu Youde and others immediately perked up. Military training is a matter that is both important and unimportant.

Feng Sheng was the one he cared about the most. Ever since he had a falling out with Chang Mao, his seal of general was taken back and he could only live in Fengyang. This time, he had been in Tianfu for a long time, without giving him anything to do and not allowing him to return to Fengyang. Feng Sheng was anxious.

Old Zhu looked at Feng Sheng and said, "Approved."

Zhu Yunhuan continued, "Duke Song is a veteran general in the army, but training troops is a big deal, I hope Your Majesty will allow the nobles to accompany you."

Old Zhu said, "You can handle this matter as you wish, but you are not allowed to mobilize the soldiers guarding the fortress."

Many civil and military officials immediately sensed a different atmosphere, because the emperor would approve whatever the crown prince proposed.

Even though they might know that this was something the Emperor and the Crown Prince had already discussed privately, the fact that they displayed it in the court undoubtedly showed that the Emperor had handed over many powers to the Crown Prince.

Look at these things. The matter of military training in the northwest was almost directly handed over to the Crown Prince to preside over.

It was said before that the King of Jin would be responsible for building cities and dividing pastures in the northwest, and it seemed that Feng Sheng was being asked to train troops, etc.

But looking beyond the surface to the essence, which of these matters was not handled by the Crown Prince? For such a major military event, the Crown Prince was enthroned not long ago, and he could directly arrange personnel and mobilize nobles?

I'm afraid it won't be long before it becomes like what happened with the late crown prince. Everything will first be approved by the Crown Prince and then reported to the Emperor for a final decision.

The crown prince is called the crown prince, but what he does is no different from the emperor!
Old Zhu and Zhu Yunhuan sang the same tune, one played the good guy and the other played the bad guy, and they cooperated very well.

Zhu Yunhuan had a good sense of propriety. When discussing specific matters with Zhu in private, he would speak out. However, for other political affairs, he would just listen and not say a word. He listened, watched and learned more, and was not in a hurry to participate in some things!
(End of this chapter)