Zhu Yuanzhang was furious. When the feudal system was being implemented, he had worried that his sons might secretly conspire. Even though he had full confidence in the crown prince, he was still wary of the sons of those feudal princes having other ideas.

Therefore, he made it very clear that princes and their heirs were not allowed to leave their fiefdoms at will. Normally, if they wanted to go out, they needed to send someone to report to the court, and only after the court granted permission could they leave. Moreover, the princes were not allowed to have many private interactions, and when a new emperor ascended the throne, the princes would send envoys to present congratulatory memorials, guard the borders, and not attend court for three years.

All of this was to restrict the feudal lords and prevent them from rebelling. Simply put, the feudal lords were essentially confined to their fiefdoms. Their freedom was limited to their own territories; they were not allowed to go anywhere else.

This explains why Prince Zhu Su of Zhou had previously returned to his hometown of Fengyang without permission, which angered Zhu Yuanzhang so much that he considered stripping Zhu Su of his title and nearly exiled him to Yunnan. It's practically an ironclad rule.

Of course, Zhu Xiong Ying's younger brother, Zhu Yun Tong, was no better off. He secretly went to Beiping to find his elder brother and was surprisingly not punished much.

In fact, many of these princes and dukes in the Ming Dynasty were arrogant, lawless, and unruly. However, there were certain things that these members of the imperial family dared not do. The drama of 'running away from home' was staged twice, once by Zhu Yuanzhang's son and once by his grandson, which greatly angered Zhu Yuanzhang.

Prince Zhou, Zhu Su, was raised under Empress Ma's care. Although he was not as important as Zhu Biao, he was still quite important to Emperor Zhu. As for Zhu Yunwen, he was the second son of Crown Prince Zhu Biao. Although he was not a good son, Emperor Zhu still showed him some favor.

Zhu Xiong Ying was a little embarrassed. He scratched his head and then said, "Grandpa, Yun Tong is still young. He was easily fooled by Fifth Uncle. You know Yun Tong's personality. That child is just playful and doesn't have much of his own opinion."

"Was it your fifth uncle who instigated this?" Old Zhu laughed in exasperation. "Your fifth uncle is quite bold. He behaved himself after we taught him a lesson last time. It's Yunhuo who's getting more and more lawless! If you ask me, with this kid's outrageous behavior, he'll be locked up in the old family home sooner or later!"

The high walls of Fengyang were no ordinary place; they were specifically for imprisoning members of the imperial family. Ordinary crimes didn't warrant going there. Those places were basically for things like treason, and the treatment there wasn't necessarily better than that of ordinary prisoners.

“Yun Tong wouldn’t go that far, he doesn’t have that kind of guts, he’s just playful.” Zhu Xiong Ying chuckled, but then assured, “Grandfather, you can rest assured, as long as the Imperial Uncles don’t rebel, your grandson won’t lock them up in high walls.”

Old Zhu ignored that and asked, "Let me ask you, how do you plan to handle this matter? If you don't handle it well, your other uncles will follow suit, which will inevitably cause trouble, and your descendants will blame you in the future."

Prince Zhu Su and Prince Zhu Yunwen could act with impunity, as these two "Princes of Wu" did not need to worry about being deposed. However, if they became role models for other princes and dukes, it might indeed bring many hidden dangers, such as increasing the risk of princes secretly colluding.

It may seem like just a prince and a duke running away from home, but if one is particularly suspicious, they might suspect that this Prince Zhou is trying to seize Prince Jin's territory. Moreover, this Prince Zhou's father-in-law is Feng Sheng, one of the most capable commanders in the Ming Dynasty's military.

Zhu Xiong Ying thought for a moment and said to Old Zhu, "Grandfather, I have also thought about these things. Ever since my fourth uncle and the others went to Japan to make a living, I feel that the matter of the vassal kings guarding the borders should be put aside. Moreover, I'm afraid that these vassal kings can no longer afford their fiefdoms. I'm worried!"

Old Zhu, with a stern face, said irritably, "We're willing to give you this entire empire, but is it so hard for your royal uncle to ask for a fiefdom?"

This is unreasonable. Zhu Xiong Ying felt that it was necessary to talk about it, to reason with people and look at the data.

“Take my fifth uncle for example. He was originally the King of Wu, and his fief was supposed to be Hangzhou. But my grandfather also felt that Wu was a land of national wealth and not suitable for establishing a fief, so he changed my fifth uncle to the King of Zhou and sent him to Kaifeng.” Zhu Xiong Ying was not afraid and said, “There is my second uncle in Xi’an and my third uncle in Taiyuan. My fourth uncle used to be in Beiping, but later he was enfeoffed in Changsha, the fief of my eighth uncle.”

Old Zhu, with a stern face, said to Zhu Xiong Ying, "Your eighth uncle couldn't think straight and committed suicide. Your fourth and seventh uncles have now gone to Japan. Changsha and Qingzhou have now been taken back, and they can be given to your two imperial uncles."

"My sixth uncle is enfeoffed in Wuchang, my tenth uncle in Yanzhou, my eleventh uncle in Chengdu, my twelfth uncle in Jingzhou, and my thirteenth uncle in Datong," Zhu Xiong Ying began, continuing, "My fourteenth uncle has been privately complaining about me. If it weren't for my intervention, he would have gone to Ganzhou. My fifteenth uncle and the others have similar thoughts. Grandfather, there are still twelve imperial uncles who haven't been enfeoffed! But their thrones will definitely be granted!"

Twenty-six sons, not including Crown Prince Zhu Biao, equals twenty-five princes. Aside from the death of the ninth prince, and the two fiefdoms now reclaimed, this means Zhu's sons will occupy twenty-two fiefdoms – that's quite a lot!

Moreover, the social standing of Zhu Yuanzhang's children can be discerned from their fiefdoms. Xi'an, Kaifeng, Taiyuan, Beiping, and Chengdu, not only possess special geographical locations, but also generally indicate considerable potential.

Old Zhu was still unhappy. It was just about twenty princes, and all they got was a fiefdom. Besides, even with fiefdoms, they weren't allowed to interfere in local government affairs—how much trouble could it possibly cause?!

Zhu Xiong Ying continued, speaking earnestly, "My father has five sons, and besides me, there are four princes. My grandson is about to have his second child, and in the future, there may be eight or ten, or even more."

"Having more children is good, so that your descendants will be plentiful and your parents and your imperial grandmother will be happy." Old Zhu, who was displeased, suddenly spoke up. Bloodline continuation was a major matter. "You already have five in the palace, and you're at the right age. If you ask me, take a few more. Ten or eight aren't enough, you should have about twenty children, and then we can all worship them together!"

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