Whether Zhu Gang listened to Zhu Yunwen's reminder or not was no longer Zhu Yunwen's concern. In any case, the historical accounts of lifespans were probably still accurate.

Although some things did not go according to history, Zhu Gang's birth, aging, illness, and death would probably not have changed because of changes in some historical events.

In addition, Zhu Yunwen noticed that Zhu Gang's complexion was indeed not good. It was likely that Zhu Gang was suffering from chronic illnesses due to overwork. If this continued, he would not live for many more years.

This was to be expected, so Zhu Yunwen was not really that worried about Zhu Gang in the future.

Having already given him a warning and a scare, and with Zhu Gang having pledged his loyalty and made an oath, Zhu Yunwen decided not to bring up the matter again.

So he said to Zhu Gang:

"As Uncle San just mentioned, one of the purposes of this trip is indeed to see how the abolition of land annexation is being implemented in Taiyuan. This is Uncle San's territory, so he has the right to speak on this. Why don't you tell me about it?"

Zhu Gang relaxed a little and nodded, saying:

"Then Uncle will report to His Highness the Crown Prince."

At this point, he frowned slightly, sighed, and continued:

"It's not easy to abolish land annexation. Taiyuan is also home to many powerful nobles and scholar-officials. It's not so easy to move them."

Taking the meat out of their mouths is even more difficult. Just the day before yesterday, I learned from the prefect of Taiyuan that some nobles were completely uncooperative with the court's implementation of the land reclamation policy.

They even rallied many nobles and landowners to publicly rebel; their attitude speaks for itself. However, now that His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived, I believe this matter can be resolved satisfactorily.

Zhu Yunwen smiled and waved his hand, saying:

"Just now, Third Uncle said that we should protect the Ming Dynasty's territory. But the Ming Dynasty's territory cannot be protected by the military force you have. There are problems with the implementation and advancement of local policies."

Uncle can't just sit idly by, can he? I believe your reputation in Taiyuan Prefecture is far greater than mine, so aren't you going to personally step in and help your nephew resolve this problem?"

Zhu Gang looked somewhat embarrassed, then smiled and said:

“Your third uncle’s reputation in Taiyuan is probably not very good. If I were to intervene, it might not be of any use.”

Zhu Yunwen knew that Zhu Gang had a rather volatile temper and often did things in Taiyuan Prefecture that greatly displeased the people.

Zhu Yuanzhang had tried to reprimand him for this, but it was clearly not very effective. After all, Zhu Yuanzhang might not know immediately what he was doing in Taiyuan.

Therefore, he became somewhat lawless, which led to his consistently poor reputation.

That's why Zhu Yunwen wanted him to handle this matter, since it was ultimately for the benefit of the people.

So Zhu Yunwen said:

"Let your third uncle handle this. Your reputation is bad, so this is a good opportunity to help you salvage it."

Furthermore, given your reputation and prestige in Taiyuan, those nobles and landlords are probably quite swayed by your approach.

There's a saying that goes, "The wicked need the wicked to be tormented." Why don't you act like a villain in front of those nobles and landowners, letting the common people know you're a good person? Isn't that killing two birds with one stone?

"It's settled then. I hope Uncle can get things done as soon as possible; it'll be my contribution to the policy."

Since Zhu Yunwen had said so, Zhu Gang naturally couldn't refuse and could only nod with a smile:

"Then I, your third uncle, will do my best to help."

Zhu Yunwen sent Zhu Gang to resolve the policy of abolishing land annexation in Taiyuan and some nearby areas, naturally intending to drag Zhu Gang into the mess as well.

At the same time, Zhu Gang does indeed provide some help and has some effect, so it's better to use it than not use it.

Some problems should be left to Zhu Gang to solve, so that the prince won't be idle.

With the matter settled, Zhu Gang then asked Zhu Yunwen:

"Where does Your Highness plan to go next? After all, Zhu Yunwen not only came to my place before, but also to my second brother's place."

Zhu Yunwen narrowed his eyes and said:

“My second uncle, Zhu Shuang, is in Xi’an. Although it’s a bit far, I really should go and see him.”

Zhu Yunwen understood that Zhu Shuang and Zhu Gang had completely different personalities. Zhu Shuang was a very cunning person, but he was all bark and no bite and was not easy to figure out.

However, it is conceivable that his ambition must be stronger than Zhu Gang's.

Zhu Gang, in the end, wasn't that calculating and couldn't be easily frightened, but Zhu Shuang was a different story.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yunwen took a deep breath. No matter what, he had to face it.

He needed to understand these powerful vassal kings to ensure that things would proceed as Zhu Yunwen envisioned.

At least Zhu Gang was under Zhu Yunwen's control, and it was certain that Zhu Gang would probably not live more than five or six years. So, Zhu Yunwen naturally had to go and see Zhu Shuang to understand the actual situation.

Zhu Yunwen was well-versed in the history of the Ming Dynasty, and he knew that Prince Qin, Zhu Shuang, was far less famous than Zhu Gang.

Zhu Gang was merely hot-tempered, but Zhu Shuang was a truly ruthless character.

He had little ability, but he loved to do bad things. In his fiefdom of Chang'an, which is now Xi'an, he was a tyrant who was used to oppressing the people.

The people's hatred for him ran deep, which led to three old women in the Qin palace who could no longer tolerate Qin King Zhu Shuang's excessive behavior. So they poisoned his favorite cherry pancake, killing him.

Therefore, if Prince Zhu Shuang of Qin did not die of illness, then it is highly likely that some unforeseen events will occur.

Although Prince Qin, Zhu Shuang, wouldn't pose a significant threat to him due to his personality, Zhu Yunwen felt it would be safer to go and see for himself to understand the situation.

In fact, even if Prince Qin, Zhu Shuang, had not died, he would not have posed any real threat to Zhu Yunwen.

After all, Prince Qin, Zhu Shuang, was not very capable. Compared with Prince Jin, Zhu Gang, and Prince Yan, Zhu Di, Prince Qin, Zhu Shuang was simply not up to par.

With this in mind, Zhu Yunwen felt at ease and had a good meal at the Prince of Jin's residence, and then rested for the night.

The next day, he left the Prince of Jin's residence with nine Imperial Guards and Zhao Qingzhu.

On the way, Zhu Yunwen said to Zhao Qingzhu:

"So, this trip with me wasn't fun, was it?"

"It's alright. The scenery along the way is quite nice, and we can see all sorts of local customs and traditions. We can also see you using various methods to discipline and deal with these vassal kings, which is actually quite interesting," Zhao Qingzhu said with a smile.

Zhu Yunwen chuckled: "It's good that you think that way. But once we get to the territory of the Prince of Qin, I'm afraid I really will lose my temper!"