Yongle Emperor's grandson: Zhu Yuanzhang with cheats, Zhu Di went crazy

Chapter 162 The First Step to the Little Wogua

"I'm back. Why did you come back so late today?"

In the evening, the father and his two sons returned to the East Palace.

Zhang, who was feeding the cat, saw that the father and his two sons had different expressions and asked in confusion.

Zhu Pangpang waved his hand without answering, and looked back at his two sons.

"I'm tired, let's go back and rest first."

Zhu Zhanji said this and turned to walk into the room.

"What's wrong with Zhanji? Why is he a little unhappy? Is he feeling unwell?"

"Hey, don't ask anymore, just let him have a good rest."

Zhu Pangpang grabbed his wife, and the three of them sat under the pavilion in the courtyard.

Looking at the silent father and son, Zhang was confused and didn't understand why everything was like this?
"Son, what happened today? Why do you and your father look like this?"

"Grandpa decided on the candidate for the crown prince in the court today."

Zhu Zhanjun was actually quite happy in his heart, but seeing the expressions of his father and the eldest brother, he felt it was a bit inappropriate for him to be happy next to them, so he had the same expression as them.

"Really? That's great. This way your father's position will be completely secure."

When Zhang heard that the old man wanted to enthrone a grandson, her face was filled with joy.

As long as the position of the Crown Prince is settled, her husband's position will also be completely secure, and she will no longer have to worry about these things in the future.

"Zhanji must be so happy. He didn't even report such a big happy event to your grandmother. He really doesn't understand anything."

Hearing Zhang's words, the father and son looked at her helplessly.

Being stared at by the father and son, the joy on Zhang's face slowly disappeared.

Only then did she realize that she seemed to have overlooked something.

If it were the eldest son, he shouldn't have done that given his personality.

And my husband and second son had the same expression.

Suddenly she was startled and looked at the father and son nervously.

“Isn’t it Zhanji?”

Zhu Pangpang sighed softly, glanced at Zhu Zhanjun and nodded.

In an instant, Zhang was struck by lightning and sat in her seat in a daze.

If the position of crown prince is not held by the eldest son but by someone else, then my husband’s position may not be preserved.

After all, the prince and the grandson are not from the same family, so one of them will definitely be unlucky in the future.

"Who is it, the second or third son's family?"

Although she was worried, as nothing was finally confirmed, Zhang felt there was still a chance for change.

Zhu Pangpang shook his head, and Zhu Zhanjun said, "It's me."

Zhang was stunned.

The position of the Crown Prince remained in the Eastern Palace, but the candidate was beyond her imagination.

She felt happy but also had an indescribable complex emotion.

"Let's choose a good place for him in the future. If he doesn't want to go, he can stay in the capital and enjoy his life. Our family doesn't lack the money to support this person."

Looking at his wife who was also silent, Zhu Pangpang really said something.

This seems to be an arrangement, but in fact it is an explanation to Zhu Zhanjun.

Although Zhu Zhanjun did not become the crown prince, the strength of his subordinates increased rapidly.

Now that he is about to become the crown prince, he has more than a dozen earls under him.

According to the old man's intention, Zhu Zhanjun selected half of the candidates to join the Five Army Camp and the Three Thousand Camp.

The old man is planning to add more strength to Zhu Zhanjun's subordinates in advance.

Perhaps these people only hold small positions now, but when Zhu Zhanjun ascends the throne in the future, these people will become Zhu Zhanjun's cutting-edge forces.

Zhu Zhanjun nodded and accepted the old man's instructions.

"You two can chat. I'm tired. I'm going to go back and rest first."

He has been busy all day today, and he has to get up early tomorrow to prepare for the grand sacrifice and the ceremony of enthroning the Crown Prince with the Ministry of Rites. He will be busy in the next few days.

Seeing that the father and son had returned to their house, Zhang asked Zhu Zhanjun in a puzzled voice: "It's you, why do you look like that? I thought you were left at someone else's house."

Zhu Zhanjun looked at his father and the eldest brother's house and whispered back, "They both have those expressions. If I laugh, wouldn't it be a bit inappropriate?"

Zhang thought about it and it seemed to be true.

"Treat your elder brother well in the future. If he wants to go to the fiefdom, find him a good place."

Zhu Zhanjun nodded and said, "Don't worry, I know what's going on. From now on, the Veteran Chamber of Commerce will give the boss 1000 taels of silver every year for pocket money."

"By the way, why hasn't that Sun come yet? The boss is feeling lonely right now, so it would be nice to have a woman to accompany him."

"It should be soon." Zhang thought for a moment and said, "After I asked you that time, I sent a message over there. Logically, it should be here."

The mother and daughter sat under the pavilion and talked for a while. After dinner, they went to Empress Xu together.

Regarding her second grandson becoming the Crown Prince, Empress Xu simply nodded and told Zhu Zhanjun to treat Zhu Zhanji well, and said nothing else.

As a queen, she has seen too many such things.

There is only one throne, and someone will miss it eventually.

"You will be the crown prince from now on. It is not right for you to live outside the palace."

"I'll have someone build a palace in a few days, and you can live there from now on. Don't run out for no reason, or people will gossip about you."

Thinking that it would be inappropriate for her grandson to live outside since he had become the crown prince, Empress Xu made the decision for Zhu Zhanjun.

Zhu Zhanjun didn't say anything about this. This was the rule and he had to abide by it.

Unless he becomes emperor one day, he must follow the rules.

The ceremony took three days to prepare, but Zhu Zhanjun just went about his business every day, showing no excitement at all.

Three days later, it will be an auspicious day.

The old man led everyone to offer sacrifices to the Imperial Ancestral Temple, offering potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn to the ancestors. He told the ancestors about the achievements made by his descendants. Then everyone went to the Fengtian Hall, and under the witness of everyone, Zhu Zhanjun was officially conferred the title of Crown Prince, becoming the second heir to the Ming Dynasty.

Since becoming the crown prince, Zhu Zhanjun has become busy.

In addition to the Tiangong Workshop and his own work, the old man also sent a lot of memorials every day for Zhu Zhanjun to practice more.

Zhu Zhanjun is so busy that he has no time to rest every day.

"When you go back with them, choose a suitable port and have them build it."

After meeting with the Korean envoys, Zhu Zhanjun called Hanzi over.

Although Hanzi has a silly name, he is quite smart and very careful in his work.

Zhu Zhanjun decided to let him take charge of building a port in Korea.

"Yes, Grandson."

Hanzi responded, took out a letter from his pocket, and reported to Zhu Zhanjun: "This is the letter I received this morning, sent by Guozi."

"Guozi is back."

Zhu Zhanjun was surprised for a moment, and recalled that it seemed that Zheng He returned from his third voyage around June of the ninth year of Yongle.

A few days ago, Zhu Zhanjun was still wondering why Zheng He didn't come back.

But then he thought, he gave Zheng He a new map, and given Zheng He's personality, he would definitely run a longer distance, so it was normal to be delayed for a month or two.

After opening the letter, Zhu Zhanjun quickly read it and his eyes lit up instantly.

Before Guo Zi left, Zhu Zhanjun gave him instructions.

If possible, let Zheng He bring back more envoys this time.

Zhu Zhanjun didn't want the old man to organize a campaign to have all nations come to pay tribute. That kind of boring thing was meaningless except for wasting money.

Zhu Zhanjun's main purpose in sending these envoys was to sell some things to them.

He had been preparing for this big business for a long time.

After inventing glass last year, Zhu Zhanjun asked a workshop specializing in glass manufacturing to produce a variety of craft products with gorgeous appearances.

Those foreign kings were crazy about these luxurious things and could make a lot of money by selling some of them.

Also, the silk mills have recently produced some excess silk, which is worth a lot of money.

More importantly, Zhu Zhanjun always wanted to control the south.

He heard from Empress Xu a few days ago that the old man planned to consider it after Zheng He returned.

Now that Zheng He is back, the opportunity to take control of the south is coming.

The Ming Dynasty's ocean-going fleet was invincible in this era.

With this fleet in hand, it would not be an exaggeration to say that he could roam the ocean at will at that time.

If equipped with new naval guns, no one will be able to surpass this fleet within a hundred years.

Moreover, Zhu Zhanjun also wanted to deal with Xiao Wogua.

If you want to make a living, it's not enough to just have ideas.

There must be troops and ships.

As long as Zhu Zhanjun gained control of the south and took control of Zheng He's fleet, he would have various reasons to increase the strength of his army.

"Your Highness, I'm back."

September 9th, the ninth year of Yongle.

This year's Double Ninth Festival, the old man decided to celebrate it in a big way.

Three and nine combined into one is a very auspicious sign.

But besides the banquet, there is also an important ceremony.

That is when Zheng He led the ocean-going fleet and brought envoys from various countries back to pay homage.

Zhu Zhanjun was appointed as the welcoming ambassador, responsible for welcoming Zheng He's return.

As soon as the sun rose in the morning, Zheng He and his companions, who were waiting ten miles away, arrived at the foot of the imperial city in a mighty procession as the people lined the streets to welcome them.

When Guo Gang saw Zhu Zhanjun at first sight, he jumped off his horse excitedly, ran to Zhu Zhanjun quickly, and knelt down.

Looking at the short, tanned, fat black boy in front of him, Zhu Zhanjun reached out and helped him up.

"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back, thank you for your hard work along the way!"

Guo Gang smiled innocently, scratched his head and said, "Although it was hard work, I also learned a lot. I even brought a gift for His Highness."

"What is it? Is there anything mine?"

Xiaohu also came over and asked with a smile.

"Yes, since you guys haven't married yet, I brought you some black women."

"Fuck you, you want black pussy."

Xiaohu, Ergou and others were instantly filled with contempt.

Zhu Zhanjun smiled and shook his head, ignoring the people who were fighting, and looked at Zheng He who was walking towards him with a smile.

"Meet His Highness the Grand Sun."

Zhu Zhanjun stepped forward and helped Zheng He up, saying with a smile: "Sir, you have worked hard all the way to lead the fleet to promote the prestige of the Ming Dynasty."

Zheng He was moved when he heard this.

Zhu Zhanjun's call of "Sir" was a recognition of his years of hard work, and also a silent reassurance to him.

Many people in the court were opposed to his voyage to the West, thinking it was a waste of the court's money. Zheng He knew this and was also worried that his fleet would be cancelled a hundred years later.

Now Zhu Zhanjun's approval, coupled with the fact that he asked Guo Gang to become his disciple, clearly gave him a reassurance.

For this reason, when Zheng He learned that Zhu Zhanjun had become the crown prince, he couldn't help but feel secretly glad.

His dream of ocean pilgrimage can finally continue.

I will be back tomorrow, and will resume updating at 12 o'clock the day after tomorrow

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(End of this chapter)