“Bao’er, your little nephew is being unreasonable and insists on leaving the palace. You’d better keep an eye on him for us.” Zhu Yuanzhang smiled as he looked at the forty-year-old Li Wenzhong. “Your aunt and I can’t do anything about him. You’d better discipline him for us.”

Li Wenzhong was Zhu Yuanzhang's nephew and was once adopted by Zhu Yuanzhang.

This child is promising, with outstanding military achievements, and was granted the title of Duke of Cao. He is now in charge of the Grand General's Office and concurrently in charge of the Imperial Academy.

In other words, Li Wenzhong was in charge of both the highest military institutions and the highest academy. It's no exaggeration to say that he was the trusted minister Zhu Yuanzhang had prepared for his crown prince Zhu Biao. At that time, Li Wenzhong could be considered the second most important figure in the military and among the nobility after Xu Da.

Li Wenzhong accepted the order with great respect, saying, "Your Majesty, I obey."

“Uncle, I’ve been thinking about it. You are of high status, and those newly appointed scholars will certainly be very respectful to you,” Zhu Xiong Ying said, speaking like a little adult. “Uncle, why don’t you let my cousin accompany me to see those scholars?”

When Li Wenzhong was somewhat surprised, Zhu Biao said with a smile, "Cousin, Ying'er heard that he is choosing a husband for his aunt and insisted on going to see. My father and I really couldn't stand his persistence, so we had no choice but to give in to his wishes and get some peace and quiet."

In fact, many officials in the court knew that the current Crown Prince was favored and had been kept in the Kunning Palace by the Empress. In the past two years, many officials had requested that the Crown Prince be established and a Crown Princess be appointed, but not only the Crown Prince disagreed, but the Emperor also refused.

Many people have heard that this is because of the Crown Prince's grandson; the emperor did not want the offspring of the Crown Princess who was to be succeeded to the throne to also become legitimate sons.

As the emperor's nephew, Li Wenzhong understood certain things better. The crown prince was truly the apple of the emperor and empress's eye. Their biggest worry was that if the crown prince ascended the throne, his successor would become empress, and with the help of civil officials, this would threaten the crown prince's position.

“Your Majesty, if the Crown Prince is concerned about my identity, Jiujiang can accompany him,” Li Wenzhong said after thinking for a moment. “Although Jiujiang is not steady, he knows etiquette and knows when to advance and retreat. The third son of the Prince of Kaiping is quite brave and strong, and can accompany him.”

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao were both satisfied with Li Wenzhong's suggestion.

Li Wenzhong's eldest son, Li Jinglong, loved reading military books and had a graceful demeanor. Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao both felt that giving him more opportunities to train him would make him a valuable asset to the grandson of the emperor in the future. As for Chang Sen, the third son of the Prince of Kaiping, he was said to be quite brave and strong, but that was only because he was the grandson's maternal uncle. Chang Sen was a spoiled brat who was good at fighting and had a knack for it.

Li Jinglong, the God of War of the Ming Dynasty?!

This was almost on par with Zhao Kuo, who only knew how to talk about war on paper, yet this guy was clearly Zhu Yunwen's commander-in-chief, appointed Grand General, and tasked with conquering Prince Yan, Zhu Di. The result was a series of defeats, with hundreds of thousands of soldiers lost, reversing the balance of power and making it impossible for the court to organize large-scale military campaigns anymore.

As a result, he opened the city gates and surrendered, welcoming the Yan army into the city!

After Zhu Di ascended the throne, Li Jinglong received a reward from Zhu Di. At that time, whenever the court discussed important matters, Li Jinglong was always at the head of the list!

This guy's stance is problematic!

Of course, it's also possible that he genuinely had serious issues with his abilities, or that Zhu Yunwen misjudged people.

Thinking of Zhu Di, Zhu Xiong Ying quickly hatched a wicked plan. "Grandfather, I didn't want to say this. Grandfather forbade me to chant sutras and pray for my mother's well-being, but I feel uneasy and have been dreaming about her many times today. Grandfather, could you please allow me to summon two or three monks and Taoist priests to pray for my mother's well-being on my behalf?"

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately nodded in agreement. This was something he had to agree to. "Alright, Your Majesty will help you select a high-ranking monk tomorrow."

"Grandfather, I wish to choose myself," Zhu Xiong Ying insisted, speaking earnestly. "I am already unfilial for not being able to chant sutras and pray for my mother. I should choose monks and Taoists myself and let them pray for me."

Zhu Biao then chimed in, “Father, Ying’er is right. If you are worried about my youth, I will simply observe from the sidelines. The Buddhist Registry manages all Buddhist temples in the land, and the Taoist Registry manages all Taoist temples. If you grant my permission, then summon the monks of Tianjie Temple.”

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded in agreement. It was a small matter for him, and since his grandson had brought it up, it was naturally even less of a problem.

Upon seeing Zhu Yuanzhang's agreement, Zhu Xiong Ying happily expressed his gratitude.

A prime minister in black? Looking like a sick tiger?

Zhu Di's strategist should stop thinking about causing chaos in the world and just spend his life chanting Buddhist scriptures!

This is the terrifying aspect of power: a single word can determine life and death!

Zhu Xiong Ying's request is just a formality; the nobody Yao Guangxiao might really have to obediently chant scriptures for the rest of his life. This monk might also have to spend his life honestly doing what a monk is supposed to do!

Whether history will change or not, Zhu Xiong Ying doesn't know, but he has already begun to try to change some aspects of history, and he is working hard for the future. Many things are indeed worth preparing for.

I dare not say anything else for now, but Zhu Xiong Ying feels that if some of her plans go smoothly, there are still some changes that can be made.

For example, he has now tried to control Yao Guangxiao, so that Zhu Di's strategist will spend his life in seclusion and Buddhism.

Or perhaps at some point in time, someone will remember Yao Guangxiao and decide to release him so that he can contribute to certain specific matters.

He was satisfied. Although it was just some small schemes now, it was still a change. Zhu Xiong Ying no longer seemed to be just acting cute in the palace; he could do more things now.

The fact that he could leave the palace made Zhu Xiong Ying a little excited and thrilled. He didn't have many opportunities to leave the palace, let alone now that he was going on a "private visit," so he naturally needed to pay even more attention to it. This was an absolutely rare opportunity.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!