Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Zhu Yunhuan gradually realized that there was a lot of resistance for Zhu Yuanzhang to return to his hometown, but he did not think there was any substantial resistance.

It was simply that some ministers thought that Zhu Yuanzhang was old and Zhu Wenyao was young, and they were worried that the two might have problems along the way.

As long as some things are arranged, there is nothing to say. Especially now that Zhu has abdicated, it doesn't matter if he is not in Yingtian Prefecture, because Zhu Yunhuan is still on the throne.

As long as state affairs were not delayed, many things would be easy to handle. As for some criticisms, Zhu Yunhuan could choose to turn a deaf ear to them.

After all, it has been like this for so many years. He has heard a lot of controversies and dissatisfaction with him. He doesn't know how many times he has heard it. So he just pretends that he didn't hear it and it will not affect the national affairs.

It is unrealistic to make everyone feel satisfied. Sometimes there will be some small complaints, but Zhu Yunhuan usually won't make a big deal out of it.

A new day of early court began. After reporting on the matter, Zhu Yunhuan took the initiative to speak, "The emperor left his hometown when he was young. Although the ancestral mausoleum has been built in Zhongdu, clan members and relatives often pay homage to him, but the emperor is still uneasy."

Some people can relate to what Zhu Yunhuan said, or it can be said that this is also their helplessness.

Since they chose to enter the government, most of them served in other places. Except for a very small number who were able to retire and return home, the vast majority actually died in office, and all of them died in other places.

It is difficult for them to return to their hometown for several years or even decades, and most of them do not have the privilege of being buried with the emperor in the tomb. When the time comes, they will be buried thousands of miles back to their hometown, believing in the principle of returning to one's roots.

Zhu Yunhuan then said, "As the grandson of the emperor, I am concerned about His Majesty the Emperor's homesickness and anxiety. As a grandson, I cannot be unfilial."

This is the righteousness, but sometimes it is obviously not enough to just talk about righteousness. Because at that time many people will say that Zhu Yunhuan is the emperor, and the greater righteousness is the family, the country, the world, and the country.

"I have specially ordered the Ministry of Rites and other government offices to prepare for the return of the retired emperor to his hometown for sacrifice." Zhu Yunhuan dropped a bombshell directly, "Everyone in the Central Military Commander's Office must make arrangements for the escort of the retired emperor back to his hometown."

It was a bombshell that Old Zhu was going back to his hometown to worship his ancestors. It was simply a fantasy in the eyes of some people that a 70-year-old man wanted to travel hundreds of miles back and forth to return to his hometown.

Zhu Yunhuan had set an ambush. If he said that Zhu Wenyao would also go back with him, it would surely cause an uproar in the court.

Chen Di was embarrassed and stepped forward to report, "Your Majesty, if His Majesty the Emperor is worshipping the ancestral tomb, you can send members of the royal family and relatives to worship on your behalf."

Look, what many officials think is the best is what Chen Di said.

There is no need for Zhu Yuanzhang to go back in person. It would be enough to send a few royal family members with the surname Zhu, or to send relatives or nobles back. This also demonstrates Zhu Yuanzhang's filial piety.

Zhu Yunhuan asked with a straight face, "Why does the emperor want to go back at this time? How could you not know?"

Seeing that Chen Di did not reply, Zhu Yunhuan said directly, "In the spring of the third year of Zhizheng, there was a severe drought in Haozhou. The next year, there was another severe drought, followed by a locust plague and a plague."

There is basically no need to say some things explicitly. The bottom line is that fifty-five years ago, Lao Zhu's parents and eldest brother starved to death one after another in less than half a month, and now it is their death anniversary.

Zhu Yunhuan continued, "The Emperor has always valued family ties, how could you not know that? Now that the Emperor has abdicated and is in good health, what's wrong with returning to his hometown to worship his ancestors?"

This is a bit unreasonable. Civil and military officials were worried about Zhu's health, fearing that something might happen to him on the way.

By then it would not just be a big deal, but some conspiracy theorists would even think that Zhu Yunhuan, who pushed Zhu Yuanzhang to return home, should be blamed, because Zhu Yuanzhang absolutely could not allow anything to happen outside the palace.

Even thinking a little further, if that day really came, Zhu Yuanzhang would also have to become seriously ill under the attention of his clan, nobles, and civil and military officials, otherwise many people would think that Emperor Chengkang learned from Li Shimin.

Or to be more extreme, some people fabricated unofficial history, saying that Zhu Yuanzhang became Duke Huan of Qi, and that Zhu Yunhuan obtained the throne because he placed Zhu Yuanzhang under house arrest or used some other means.

These concerns are not unnecessary, because many people do not believe in official history, but only believe in unofficial history or hearsay.

Zhu Yunhuan walked away in anger. This was also the reason why he chose to talk about the matter at the end of the morning court, so that it would be convenient for him to walk away in anger and avoid more arguments.

However, Zhu Yunhuan also understood that even if he turned away and made his attitude clear, some civil and military officials would still discuss the matter, and those who wanted to advise would still do so.

This is also the way officials do their job. It is normal for them to have their own opinions on many things, and it is not surprising at all that they have their own positions and views.

Even under a highly centralized government like Zhu Yuanzhang, some officials would put forward their own political views while he was in office, and in many cases they would not completely agree with Zhu Yuanzhang's views.

Xu Huizu, Li Jinglong and Chang Sheng became the objects of conversation for many civil and military officials, because on some matters it seemed that these three people were the most suitable to give advice.

The Queen's elder brother, the Emperor's cousin, and the Emperor's uncle, these three people are the top nobles themselves, and they are all powerful people. It is more appropriate to let them give advice both in public and in private.

But whether it is effective or not is obviously another matter.

Chang Sheng is having a headache now. The third son made a mistake and was taken back to the capital. Although His Majesty did not impose a severe punishment, he was definitely dismissed from office.

The third brother's affairs have not been dealt with yet, and he has to find a way to hide it from his seriously ill mother so that she won't think too much. As the founding duke, his mind is full of lawsuits, and he obviously doesn't have much time to think too much.

What's more, Chang Sheng's position has always been very firm over the years. He knows that his abilities are mediocre, so he follows Zhu Yunhuan's arrangements in almost all matters. If he can't help, it's fine, but he will never make things worse.

If Chang Sheng doesn't step forward, there's no hope for Lan Yu either. The two have the same stance, and they are both completely obedient under Zhu Yunhuan's rule.

Xu Huizu and Li Jinglong naturally tried to find a way to escape. In fact, they did not approve of these things. It was not just about Old Zhu returning to his hometown, but more importantly, they had to take Zhu Wenyao with them.

But they knew about this yesterday and tried to persuade him at first. But the emperor was unhappy, and the emperor emeritus was even more unhappy.

The result was that they could only do what they were supposed to do after their persuasion failed. These were obviously more important to them than safely escorting Lao Zhu and Zhu Wenyao.

Of course, the officials didn't know that Zhu Wenyao was going back, so they kept it a secret for a few days. After all, Zhu Wenyao was only the 'eldest son', with a special status but no official title. Zhu Yunhuan returned to Wuying Hall and said to Zhang Fusheng with a smile, "If there are civil and military ministers who want to see you, if it's a state matter, then we'll allow them. If it's about the emperor returning home, then we won't summon him."

Zhang Fusheng naturally kept it in mind. Not every minister who requested an audience would be summoned. Eunuchs like Zhang Fusheng would also ask the ministers in advance the reasons for their request for an audience.

This does not violate the iron rule set by Zhu Yuanzhang, and it is a fact that eunuchs are not allowed to interfere in government affairs. However, it is their job for eunuchs to ask officials why they want to see them, but the officials do not need to report the details.

As for some officials who want to be clever, that is not impossible, but they just have to think about the consequences.

If one really evades the issue and talks about other things, and takes it too far, it would be tantamount to deceiving the emperor, which is a crime that not everyone dares to bear. Many people also keep these political tacit understandings in mind.

Relying on people like Zhang Fusheng, Zhu Yunhuan could indeed get some peace and quiet, and some ministers really couldn't bother him about this matter, but this was not enough.

Zhu Yunhuan then looked at Daoyan and Xia Yuanji, "If it is about the memorial regarding the return of the retired emperor, you should take a look at it first. If it is nothing serious, you can stay here."

Since officials could not meet Zhu Yunhuan in person to report to him, they could naturally submit memorials. However, whether the memorials would reach Zhu Yunhuan and whether he would see them was definitely a matter of some knowledge.

Daoyan, Xia Yuanji and others would also draft memorials, or sort the memorials to be submitted to the emperor's desk, and place them at the top, in the most conspicuous position.

Some of the less important and urgent ones could be piled at the bottom of the memorials. There were even some memorials that were really nothing to care about, and Zhu Yunhuan would not even look at them, letting Daoyan and others approve them directly.

On the one hand, the emperor needs to avoid being deceived by ministers and avoid missing out on some serious memorials. But on the other hand, he also needs to pay attention to some ministers' memorials, which must be meaningful and serious.

After all, even if Zhu Yuanzhang punished Ru Taisu back then, it still couldn't change the fact that some ministers liked to show off their literary talent when reporting on matters.

Or some officials, in order to curry favor with the emperor, kept submitting memorials to ask about the emperor's health, etc. It was a waste of time to read the memorials of such ministers. However, it was not particularly appropriate to punish them for this.

In such circumstances, the role of the shield is reflected.

Whether it is Zhang Fusheng or Daoyan and others, they can indeed help Zhu Yunhuan save time and let him spend his precious time on dealing with real state affairs.

Daoyan also carefully reminded him at this time, "Your Majesty, I think if the officials cannot see Your Majesty, they may ask their families to ask to see Her Majesty the Queen."

Zhu Yunhuan understood immediately and said with a smile, "The monk is right. Although the queen knows about these things, she still needs to be told. She has a lot of things to do and there is no need to waste time."

Queen Xu Miaojin is a serious queen. There are many big and small things to do in the palace. There is no need for her to waste time on this matter. It is more important to do what she should do.

This is Daoyan. Yesterday he was still advising Zhu Yunhuan, thinking that it was not appropriate for Zhu to take Zhu Wenyao back to Fengyang.

However, when Zhu Yunhuan had made up his mind, Daoyan began to help and offer advice, hoping that the emperor would no longer be distracted by these matters and would help the emperor to handle these matters thoroughly.

Such a stance and such a working style are still very satisfying. This is the embodiment of a capable minister who can truly share the worries of the king.

Zhang Fusheng naturally received the emperor's order, and he must have immediately arranged for someone to report to the empress. There are some things that really need to be made known to Her Majesty the Queen in a timely manner.

"It's possible to have some temporary peace, but it's hard to be completely peaceful." Zhu Yunxun said with some self-mockery, "We need to hurry up and do these things. Only when they are settled can we be truly peaceful."

Daoyan immediately said, "Your Majesty, we will discuss this with Duke Wei and others in a timely manner and will not delay His Majesty the Retired Emperor from returning to his hometown to offer sacrifices."

This is what happened. Before Zhu Yuanzhang actually set out to return home, there would definitely be some civil and military officials who would try every means to persuade him, etc., because some people felt that things were in the hands of people and they could still change the situation.

That is to say, when Zhu Yuanzhang actually sets off and returns to Yingtian Prefecture after offering sacrifices, the voices of discussion will temporarily dissipate, and perhaps some people will give a little advice and advise that such things should not happen again.

As expected, there were indeed quite a few officials who sought to see him. Most of them wanted to report Zhu Yuanzhang's return to his hometown and wanted Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Yunhuan to change their minds.

None of these people were seen, and those ministers who were summoned were sent away directly after reporting serious matters. If they wanted to continue reporting other matters, it was obvious that they would not be treated like this.

After a busy day, Zhu Yunhuan returned to the West Palace and complained, "Grandfather, someone must have come to bother you these two days."

Old Zhu smiled and said, "It took less than two days for someone to come and ask for an audience. You are not a very good emperor, how can you let the ministers come to the abdicated emperor for no reason?"

Zhu Yunxun couldn't help but complain, "I'll write down these people's names later, and I'll find a reason to make things difficult for them."

There is no need to take these jokes seriously, because Old Zhu knows that Zhu Yunhuan will definitely not care about these things.

Because if he really cared, then these ministers' desire to meet Zhu would not have been heard.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang abdicated, Zhu Yunhuan never expressed any intention to isolate Zhu Yuanzhang from the court officials. He was even keen to see the ministers meet Zhu Yuanzhang.

A man of integrity has nothing to fear from his own shadow. In addition, with the favor of Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Yunhuan seemed particularly magnanimous in what he did and did not need to worry about power at all.

The throne has been passed down, so there is no need to worry about power falling into someone else's hands. When you are the crown prince, you can preside over the government. There is no reason to lose power after becoming the emperor.

Old Zhu asked with a smile, "Now you are trying to persuade me not to go back, but you didn't say that we are not allowed to bring Wen Yao back with us?"

Zhu Yunxun said proudly, "I didn't say that Wen Yao would go back with me, otherwise how could things be like this now? If I really said that Wen Yao would go back, a bunch of people would kneel down at the Meridian Gate to ask for an audience."

Hearing what Zhu Yunhuan said, Old Zhu couldn't help but laugh, because that was the truth.

Old Zhu is under a lot of pressure to go back, and if he brings Zhu Wenyao with him, there will definitely be even greater resistance. It can even be said that the real resistance actually comes from whether Zhu Wenyao returns to his hometown! (End of this chapter)