In my opinion, the Fifth Prince, Zhu Su, the Prince of Zhou, is of superior character, virtue, ability, and love for the people; perhaps he is the most suitable candidate.

Upon hearing this, many officials nodded in agreement. Over the years since Zhu Yunwen became the crown prince, he had gradually replaced some of the less capable officials in the court.

Therefore, the officials who were able to establish themselves in the imperial court were generally considered to be virtuous and capable.

Of course, there may be a few who are particularly good at hiding their abilities, but in general, most of the officials who were able to remain in the court after Zhu Yunwen's selection process were quite capable and of decent character.

Therefore, after hearing Lan Yu's words, these officials all felt that they made sense.

I had naturally heard of the reputation of Prince Zhu Su of Zhou, even though he had been demoted to Yunnan.

But when he arrived at that place, he did not harbor resentment because he had been demoted to a poor and difficult place. Instead, he saw the suffering of the people and understood the hardships of the local people.

Finally, he compiled many books that were very useful to the people, including medical books, records of various edible plants, and so on.

Such a person, who is not competitive, has no great ambition, keeps the people in his heart, understands human suffering, knows the hardships of the people, and has a kind heart, is indeed very suitable for governing the world from any perspective.

It was much better than the cruel, short-tempered, and relatively incompetent Prince Zhu Gang of Jin.

The officials all nodded in agreement, thinking the suggestion seemed like a good one.

The Minister of Revenue, Zhang Shan, also said:

“Prince Zhu Su of Zhou has also been frequently praised by His Highness the Crown Prince. He is someone His Highness admires. If we were to choose him, perhaps it would indeed be a good choice.”

Zhu Yuanzhang, on the other hand, slowly stood up and addressed the officials below:

"Let's leave this matter aside for now. If there's nothing else, let's adjourn the court session."

As he spoke, Zhu Yuanzhang slowly left, his lonely figure causing the officials in the court to feel heartbroken.

After returning to his study, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at several memorials on the table, many of which were written by Prince Jin, Zhu Gang.

Furthermore, the memorials written by some officials in the fiefdom of Prince Zhu Gang of Jin were all full of praise for Zhu Gang, saying that he governed the fiefdom well, and so on.

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't even be bothered to look at these nonsense stories, and naturally, he would never believe them.

What a coincidence! Zhu Gang wanted to take advantage of the death of the crown prince to return to the capital to visit Zhu Yuanzhang. His purpose was quite obvious.

At this very moment, local officials were flattering Zhu Gang, praising him in every way. Wasn't it obvious that they were helping Zhu Gang?

Anyone with a brain would never believe that.

Besides, Zhu Yuanzhang was such a clever person.

Therefore, he basically didn't read these memorials, and felt there was no need to read them at all.

"Without realizing it, we've actually become somewhat inseparable from this grandson of the crown prince. Now, what are we going to do with this mess?" Zhu Yuanzhang said helplessly.

At the same time, in the Prince of Jin's residence in Taiyuan Prefecture.

Prince Zhu Gang of Jin spoke with a gloomy expression:

"I've written so many memorials, yet there's been no response? Does this mean they don't agree to my going to the capital? At this point, what choice does Father Emperor have?"

What is he still hesitating about? Doesn't he know that he has no other choice but me? Now that Zhu Yunwen is dead, the only heir can be me.

The Crown Prince of Jin spoke:

“Father, I’ve heard that many officials in the court seem to prefer Fifth Uncle.”

Zhu Gang's face darkened, and he sneered:

"How laughable is Fifth Prince! What ability does he have to compete with me? He's obsessed with medicine and studying all sorts of plants, and his son is very interested in opera. He's not suited to follow the path of the royal family at all. He's not even worthy of being a prince..."

The heir apparent of the Prince of Jin nodded and said:

"That's right, but what if Grandfather chooses Fifth Uncle? What will Father do then?"

Zhu Gang narrowed his eyes and said, "If Father really doesn't open his eyes and chooses the fifth son, then he will definitely rebel."

In this world, the only ones who can control me besides Zhu Yunwen are my father.

Now that Zhu Yunwen is dead, as long as I wait for my father to die of old age, no one will be able to pose any threat to me.

The heir apparent of the Prince of Jin immediately became excited, and then Zhu Gang said:

"Wait for news. If Father still doesn't reply to me in the next few days, then I'll prepare to cultivate my power base and bribe some officials along the way and some generals stationed in various places."

"Then we'll fight our way all the way to the capital. I refuse to believe I can't sit on the throne."