"Grandfather, I have requested rewards for my men." Upon arriving at Fengtian Hall, Zhu Xiong Ying prostrated himself on the ground.

Zhu Biao put down his wolf-hair brush, glared at Zhu Xiong Ying, and said, "What nonsense are you spouting?"

"Your Highness, two years ago I made a vow to my grandmother that I would ensure the people have enough to eat and wear, and that they would not freeze to death in the winter." Zhu Xiong Ying was very firm and resolute. "For the past two years, I have never dared to slack off. Today, the Ministry of Works has finally made coal briquettes. Although it cannot keep all the people of the world warm in the winter, it is at least of some help."

Old Zhu and Zhu Biao both knew about these things, or rather, they remembered them after Zhu Xiong Ying mentioned them.

Old Zhu looked at Zhu Xiong Ying with a smile and asked, "Oh? Ying'er, tell me quickly."

"Grandpa, the coal briquettes are right outside the palace," Zhu Xiong Ying said with a smile. "They're just coal dust mixed with yellow mud and water, so the cost isn't high. While not everyone can afford them, for ordinary households, they're cheaper than firewood. The border troops suffer from the harsh winter, and they can use them for warmth. Just be careful about the toxicity of the coal; you need to ventilate the room a little."

Old Zhu and Zhu Biao became serious. If the cost was really similar to that of charcoal, then these coal briquettes might be more useful. After all, in some places, especially where the border troops were stationed, there might not be much firewood.

Zhu Xiong Ying is still able to do some things, although what he does now are just small things, or just helping to improve some small things.

However, these efforts were effective, and Zhu Xiong Ying's performance naturally attracted the attention of many interested people.

Zhao Mao, the Minister of Rites, submitted a memorial requesting that Zhu Xiong Ying be established as the Crown Prince.

Zhu Yuanzhang was tempted, because his eldest grandson was about to turn ten. According to the imperial ancestral precepts, the eldest son of the crown prince was the crown prince's grandson, and the second son and sons of concubines were all granted the title of prince when they reached the age of ten, and were given gilded silver books and silver seals.

Wait a little longer. The grandson is about to turn ten. It's impossible for Old Zhu not to be tempted.

Zhu Biao has been under a lot of pressure lately because his father, the emperor, has become increasingly bloodthirsty. Although he knows it's to rectify official corruption, sometimes the killings are just too brutal.

The bureaucracy at the end of the Yuan Dynasty was extremely corrupt, and officials were notoriously greedy. So much so that after establishing the dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang paid close attention to the political climate, even to the point of overcorrection. On the one hand, he promoted integrity, requiring officials at all levels to abide by the law and be honest and kind to the people. On the other hand, he imposed severe penalties on officials who broke the law to deter corruption.

The blank printing case from the previous two years made Zhu Biao somewhat worried.

This case arose from a blank official document stamped with an official seal. According to the imperial system, every year each prefecture, state, and county under the jurisdiction of the provincial administration commissioner was required to send auditing officials to the Ministry of Revenue in the capital to verify the payment of money, grain, and military supplies to the central government by their respective departments.

All accounts must be completely consistent with those approved by the Ministry of Revenue before settlement can proceed. If any item is inconsistent, the account must be rejected and a new register must be created, and the original local authority's seal must be affixed to complete the process.

However, transportation was not well-developed and the journey was long. If the documents needed to be sent back for rework, it would take a considerable amount of time. Therefore, the officials who went to the Ministry of Revenue for review all had blank books with their seals affixed beforehand for use.

This was originally a customary practice from the Yuan Dynasty. Money and grain would be lost during transportation, so the figures from the time of delivery to the time the Ministry of Revenue received them would not match. Officials could not predict in advance how much was lost on the way. They could only find out the difference when the Ministry of Revenue was about to report. Therefore, officials sent to the capital were used to using blank seals to fill in the actual amount in the capital.

However, when Zhu Yuanzhang heard about this, he felt it was a serious crime of officials colluding with each other to deceive the emperor, so he ordered the punishment of all the relevant officials and executed hundreds of them.

If his father, the emperor, were to start killing people, no one could stop him.