Zhu Yunying was undoubtedly furious about Zhuo Jing's "rebellion," and this was not the first time he had encountered such a situation.

Previously, Zhan Hui, who served as both Left Censor-in-Chief and Minister of Personnel, was also considered to have 'rebelled'. Originally, Zhu Yunying had some expectations for this veteran official, but Zhan Hui seemed to be somewhat ungrateful, so Zhu Yunying could only send Zhan Hui back to live out his days in luxury.

However, Zhan Hui was ultimately Zhu Yunying's subject, not his confidant. Moreover, Zhu Yunying was not the emperor at that time, so it couldn't really be considered a true rebellion, and the incident didn't have a significant impact on Zhu Yunying.

Although he was annoyed, Joo Yoon-young still knew he had to do his job.

Old Zhu strolled into the Wuying Hall, casually picked up a memorial, and said, "Ying'er, isn't your way of reviewing memorials a bit perfunctory?"

“It’s not that I’m being silly, it’s just that there are too many memorials from various garrisons and prefectures paying their respects,” Zhu Yunying said helplessly. “Before, they were all from the surrounding areas of Yingtian Prefecture, but now they’re even coming from far away. Look, the heir of the Marquis of Xiping is sending memorials one after another.”

Wang Chengen quickly found the memorial and handed it to Zhu Yuanzhang for review.

Mu Lin, the heir apparent of the Marquis of Xiping, was paying his respects in a serious manner, but compared to other heirs and ministers, this heir seemed somewhat 'fearless'.

Old Zhu couldn't help but laugh and said, "In my opinion, it was your sister's idea."

“That’s right. He wants to race his cousin, the Crown Prince, on horseback, but there aren’t any tall, fine horses in Yunnan,” Zhu Yunying said irritably. “I’ve figured it out, none of my younger siblings are easy to deal with; they’re all trying to get some from me. The Marquis of Xiping’s residence can’t possibly lack tall, fine horses!!”

Old Zhu put down the memorial and said, "That is, after all, your nephew, your sister's legitimate son. If you really can't bear to part with him, we'll send a few horses over. This can be considered as a gift from us to our granddaughter."

"I sent them. I sent several imperial horses and a set of armor as a reward," Zhu Yunying said with a smile. "Speaking of which, even my younger siblings have become a bit distant from me since I ascended the throne. Even Yunhuo is now more observant of my feelings."

Old Zhu wasn't surprised at all. He said to Zhu Yunying, "Sitting in this position means you're all alone. Even if you were the Crown Prince, would others not respect you?"

That's absolutely true. Zhu Yunying's status is special; it's not that everyone only started to be mindful of his wishes after he ascended the throne. Even when he was the Crown Prince, many people were already watching his every move. Now, it's just that this is even more obvious.

Looking at his grandson, Old Zhu said earnestly, "Everyone says we kill meritorious officials, but sometimes we have no choice. Li Shanchang doesn't know when to advance or retreat, Hu Weiyong acts recklessly, and there are even more corrupt, arrogant, and rebellious military officers. If we don't kill them, your father will. If we don't kill them, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty will be bullied."

Zhu Yunying understood what his father meant and said with a smile, "As for those founding heroes, I do think some of them deserve to be killed. Our Ming Dynasty has just been established, and for the sake of imperial power and the stability of the country, some things are simply unavoidable."

Old Zhu nodded with satisfaction, then said, "Even if we are so domineering, there are still many people in the court who oppose us. I have seen that some scholars are not afraid of the emperor, but they are afraid of going against their conscience and going against the wishes of their sage Confucius."

"Grandson was actually prepared long ago. Even when he became emperor, he never expected everyone to obey him." Zhu Yunying said with a smile, as if he had really thought it through long ago. "Even Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han had some unpleasant things in the court."

That's exactly the point, and that's one of the reasons why Old Zhu came to comfort Zhu Yunying.

Ultimately, the concern was that Zhu Yunying would be resentful, given that Zhuo Jing was no ordinary person. He was someone Zhu Yunying had personally promoted and was one of Zhu Yunying's most trusted and important ministers. Such a person's 'betrayal' would naturally infuriate anyone.

"So what do you plan to do?" Old Zhu asked curiously. "If you can't make a move yourself, we'll find a pretext to kill him."

Zhu Yunying was amused; this protective grandfather was quite domineering.

Zhu Yunying felt it was unnecessary and expressed his thoughts, "To be honest, Zhuo Jing has disappointed me. I did promote him and have shown him kindness. But there's no need to kill him. Let him go to a post outside the capital. This person can't be given important responsibilities. I don't like people who are difficult to work with."

Old Zhu frowned slightly, then said, "Ying'er, being an emperor sometimes requires being ruthless!"

“When it’s time to kill, I will definitely kill. I’m not such a merciful person.” Zhu Yunying said bluntly, “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have captured those Tartars to develop Liaodong and make them do hard labor everywhere. It’s just that Zhuo Jing has some ability and talent. Let him go to the local area and he can help me guard a prefecture or county. It would be a pity to kill him.”

Since Zhu Yunying had said so, Old Zhu naturally had no other ideas and could accept it.

Ultimately, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't care about Zhuo Jing at all, nor did he think Zhuo Jing was irreplaceable. At most, Zhuo Jing had slightly disrupted the schedule, and now they needed to consider a new candidate for Minister.

Zhu Yunying remembered and said to his father, "I plan to continue to appoint Ru Chang as Minister of Personnel, Ren Hengtai as Minister of Rites, Yu Xin as Minister of Revenue, and Qi Tai as Minister of War. Yang Jing will continue to serve as Minister of Justice, and Yan Zhenzhi will remain Minister of Works."

Old Zhu thought for a moment and said, "Reform the Court of Judicial Review, send Bao Zhao there. Lian Zining has a special status and is quite talented, send him to the Court of State Ceremonial. Find some scholars for the Court of Imperial Stud, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, the Hanlin Academy, and the Imperial Academy. Send Chen Di to the Office of Transmission, and the Censorate..."

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