Huang Zicheng is quite the rare goofball.

This kind of person is neither talented nor has Zhu Yunwen had any intention of using him, so he speaks to him without any politeness.

Even a discerning person could tell that Zhu Yuntong had a lot of opinions about Huang Zicheng.

We can't just ignore it; after all, this is one of Emperor Jianwen's most trusted advisors.

Keeping such a talented person by your side is irresponsible towards the country.

Qi Tai has already been removed from office. It's only a matter of time before Huang Zicheng is also removed.

However, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, which Huang Zicheng was in charge of, was not very important, so Zhu Yunwen did not pay much attention to it at first.

If one day I really don't like this guy, I can easily take care of him with some simple means; it's just a small matter.

Huang Zicheng knew that the relationship between him and Zhu Yunwen was irreconcilable.

After all, he had done so much for his master Zhu Yunwen, so it was absolutely impossible for him to pledge allegiance to Zhu Yunwen now.

So after being silenced by Zhu Yunwen's few sharp words, he dared not speak anymore.

They dared not raise any further questions about Zhu Yunwen's two policies.

Then Zhu Yunwen said:

"Does anyone else have any objections?"

The officials all shook their heads, offering no objections.

Zhu Yunwen then said, "So, in other words, all the civil and military officials support these two decrees of mine?"

The officials were all stunned for a moment. Zhu Yunwen's words were clearly intended to tie these civil and military officials to him.

Once these two decrees are implemented, everyone will know that they have the support of both civil and military officials.

In this way, the pressure wouldn't fall solely on Zhu Yunwen. This made the officials admire Zhu Yunwen's shrewdness; with just a single sentence in court, he forced everyone to stand on his side.

But these officials are forced to be tied to Zhu Yunwen, and now they are all quite afraid of him.

They all nodded and said they were willing to support it and had no objections.

Zhu Yunwen smiled and looked at Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled; even he had to admire such methods.

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang concluded by saying:

"Everyone has heard what the Crown Prince said, and he explained it very clearly. So, the Ministry of Revenue will then be responsible for implementing the decree to abolish land annexation, as well as measuring the land throughout the country, conducting population statistics, and implementing the land redistribution order."

After Zhu Yuanzhang finished speaking, the officials all knelt on the ground:

"Your Majesty is wise, your great grandson is wise."

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed heartily, then turned and left the court with Zhu Yunwen.

After leaving the court, Zhu Yuanzhang had Zhu Yunwen walk around the palace with him so that the grandfather and grandson could talk in detail about the abolition of land annexation and the implementation of the land distribution order.

After discussing it with Zhu Yuanzhang, he said to Zhu Yunwen with great satisfaction:

“At first, we were indeed a little reluctant to do things your way, but now it seems that you have some skills, and these two decrees are indeed more beneficial than harmful.”

If it can be strictly implemented, it will be extremely beneficial to the foundation of our Ming Dynasty.

Ultimately, if the common people can live well, weakening the aristocratic and scholar-official class might actually be more beneficial for the imperial family and the court in maintaining control over the country.

Zhu Yunwen nodded and said, "That's right. Once the common people are living a stable life, then the foundation will be established. As long as their interests are protected, there won't be any major chaos in the world."

Those noble and scholar-official classes thus held little power. They would neither exploit the common people, thus preventing popular rebellion, nor threaten the imperial family or bleed the royal family dry.

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and patted Zhu Yunwen on the shoulder, saying:

“Very good. You have accomplished so much since becoming the Crown Prince. We have high hopes for your abilities.”

By the way, I heard that Ma Sanbao is preparing to set sail? It's already winter; isn't it a bit too hasty to set sail at this time?

Zhu Yunwen frowned and said:

"There's no rush. If we can bring back the grain I need a day earlier, the people will suffer more than just one less day of hunger. We can speed up the land distribution order and Ma Sanbao's search for grain seeds. Ideally, both should be implemented simultaneously."

The seeds should be distributed in large quantities once the people have acquired land. This will largely solve the problem of food shortages for the people the following year.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Yunwen for a long time before speaking:

"To be fair, you are more patriotic and love your people than your father. Perhaps you are also more capable than your father."

Zhu Yunwen smiled but did not respond further to the matter.

Zhu Yuanzhang was completely satisfied, believing that he had made the right choice in selecting Zhu Yunwen as his grandson.

Thinking of this, a smile unconsciously appeared on his face.

Then, suddenly, he frowned and said:

"We haven't figured out how to handle the situation in Goryeo yet."

Zhu Yunwen smiled and said, "The Goryeo Kingdom is two-faced. This precisely shows that they are very timid. Otherwise, they wouldn't have recognized two fathers and be so cautious. Therefore, they certainly wouldn't dare to cause trouble for our Great Ming."

After all, anyone with a modicum of common sense could see the situation clearly: the Northern Yuan was virtually hopeless, with only some remnants remaining in Mongolia. Therefore, they certainly knew what choice to make and would never dare to openly break with the Ming Dynasty.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Then why did you send Qi Tai to Goryeo to interrogate them? Did you scare Qi Tai into thinking that he would surely die if he went there?"

Zhu Yunwen laughed and said, "I was just bluffing him. This guy is too timid to be scared and missed this opportunity to make a name for himself. In fact, if he really went to Goryeo, how could Goryeo dare to really break ties with the Ming Dynasty over something like this?"

Unaware of each other's intentions, they would inevitably choose to acknowledge two powerful allies, trying to please both. However, when their scheme is exposed and they are forced to choose only one side, they will absolutely choose the Ming Dynasty, not the already weakened Northern Yuan.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded in agreement, then squinted at Zhu Yunwen and said:

"You sent Qi Tai there on purpose, hoping to force him to resign, didn't you? You made it sound so serious that the old man came back shortly after leaving, losing all face and ruining his reputation in his later years." Zhu Yuncong scratched his head.

"That's satisfying! Otherwise, why would I have actually sent him to question Goryeo? I'm not stupid to ask him to do something that would earn him merit."

Zhu Yuanzhang then realized just how terrifying Zhu Yunwen's methods of manipulating the court officials were.

Having been emperor for over twenty years, he never imagined that Zhu Yunwen would resort to such methods.

However, he then asked Zhu Yunwen:

"Then we still have to send someone to Goryeo to demand an explanation, right?"

Zhu Yunwen shook his head and said, "There's no need for such trouble. Just send someone to inform Beiyuan that Goryeo is playing both sides and acknowledging both as their fathers."

At that point, Bei Yuan probably won't let the matter rest either. Didn't they say before that they wanted to use someone else to do their dirty work?