Zhu Gaochi looked embarrassed and stammered, "Uncle, Uncle is unwilling to teach us about military formations, nor is he willing to get close to us."

Xu Huizu was just that kind of person, and it wasn't just because Xu Miaoqing was the Crown Prince's consort and Zhu Wenyin was about to become the Crown Prince. The main reason was that Xu Huizu was loyal to the Emperor. As a powerful military governor, he was unwilling to get too close to a prince.

Zhu Yunying didn't take it seriously, still confident. "It's alright, I'll just give him a handwritten edict. It's just that I don't know if Gao Xu and Gao Sui can endure this hardship."

Zhu Gaochi immediately stood up, full of enthusiasm, "Elder brother, rest assured, if the second and third brothers disobey, I will deal with them."

That's fine. Zhu Yunying really doesn't mind grooming his fourth uncle's three brothers. Ultimately, his fourth uncle's territory will be in Japan from now on, and ideally, Japan would be divided in two. However, the current emperor still has some territory, so Japan will likely remain divided into three for a long time to come.

It would take considerable time to swallow and assimilate Japan, which was also one of Zhu Yunying's expectations—that his fourth uncle's family would prosper there. This would be a good form of protection for the Ming Dynasty, at least better than granting fiefdoms within its own borders.

Zhu Yunying was not petty in his dealings. Although he had some prejudice against Zhu Di, it was only because of the messy things that Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Di did in history.

However, Zhu Yunying doesn't need to care about these things now, mainly because he truly holds great power and his position is very secure. Therefore, there are some things that Zhu Yunying can ignore, and he can continue to be the Crown Prince steadily.

Training the three from his fourth uncle's family wasn't something Zhu Yunying worried about. Once they completed their training, they would go to Japan to stir up trouble. Their superior abilities would be beneficial to the Ming Dynasty. A Japan that was constantly being assimilated was in the best interest of the Ming Dynasty, and of course, the stronger the Japan, the better.

While Zhu Yunying was chatting with Zhu Gaochi, many of his younger cousins ​​were secretly watching. Seeing Zhu Yunying laughing and talking with Zhu Gaochi, the younger cousins ​​felt a pang of envy. They all knew that if they wanted a better future, they had to please their eldest cousin.

However, such treatment was clearly not available to everyone, and Zhu Yunying couldn't possibly recognize all of his younger brothers, nor did he have a particularly strong impression of many of them. Among them, there were also some younger brothers whose image in Zhu Yunying's mind wasn't considered very good.

In the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang also heard some news. He didn't need to deliberately plant spies around Zhu Yunying, but he knew that his eldest grandson would basically not hide anything from him.

Old Zhu knew that Zhu Yunying possessed the demeanor of an elder brother. However, in the past, Old Zhu knew that his eldest grandson mainly protected Zhu Yunying. As for his other cousins, he also took care of them, but only to a certain extent.

But now it seems different. His precious grandson is becoming more and more like the head of the family, shouldering the heavy responsibility of the entire Zhu family and seeking a better future for the Zhu family's clan members.

Zhu Yunwen was having a great time drinking and pulled Zhu Zhaohui over. "Brother, this is Uncle Shi's only son."

Zhu Yunying looked at eight-year-old Zhu Zhaohui and said with a smile, "Your elder brother has been taken care of by your grandmother all these years, but your succession to the throne will have to wait. There are still two years left, and your elder brother cannot go against the Emperor's wishes."

Zhu Zhaohui quickly put on a mature demeanor and said, "I will follow your teachings, elder brother."

This is Consort Guo's grandson. When Zhu Yunying ran away from home, he often treated himself as a distinguished guest at the Prince of Lu's residence. Now, Consort Guo, who was originally taking care of her grandson in her fiefdom, has also brought Zhu Zhaohui to Yingtian Prefecture, naturally because Zhu Yunying is about to ascend the throne.

Such a major event for the nation naturally required Zhu Zhaohui, as the younger brother, to attend. The main reason was that Zhu Zhaohui had not yet inherited the throne, so leaving his fiefdom now wouldn't be of much concern.

Everything seemed to be ready, as if they were just waiting for Zhu Yunying to ascend to the throne and rule the world.

Zhu Yunying remained calm; he still had some things to deal with, and he was very patient.