Old Zhu continued, "I guess he heard about the imperial examination and that's why he came back. If that kid were here, he would probably have been the one causing trouble a while ago."

This is true. If Zhu Yunwen were in Yingtian Prefecture, Zhu Yunying wouldn't have anything to worry about. He wouldn't need Zhu Zhaohui to launch a direct attack on Yansheng Temple; his henchman would definitely be Zhu Yunwen. However, there's also a high probability it would still be Zhu Zhaohui, not only because Zhu Zhaohui's fief was in Yanzhou, but more importantly, because Zhu Yunying would certainly want to protect his younger brother.

"No matter how useless Yunwen is, he's still very good to us, his older brother." Zhu Yunying smiled and said to Old Zhu, "Don't look at him just because he was raised by Lady Lü and it seems like he grew up with Yunwen. But in his heart, he only recognizes us as his older brother."

Looking at his proud grandson, Old Zhu said, "Yun Tong is better than Yun Wen and the others in this respect. He's guileless and acts like a younger brother. We were younger brothers when we were kids, so we acted like younger brothers. Yun Tong is a good kid."

Though he may be a good-for-nothing, the child is easy to manage, and remarkably, he possesses a brotherly bond. In the royal family, such qualities are considered quite rare.

Zhu Yunying laughed and then said, "He's probably no use coming back, so it's better to send him back to his hometown."

Old Zhu couldn't help but chuckle. "That's a good suggestion," he said. "It's fine if he goes to offer incense for you. That kid may be mischievous, but he knows his limits when it comes to important matters. But seriously, that kid's been married for quite a while now, why is there still no news about him!"

Zhu Yunying also had doubts, analyzing, "I guess he's been running around outside for too long and spending too little time in the mansion."

Zhu changed the subject and said to Zhu Yunying, "You only have one son and one daughter, that won't do. You need to hurry up and find a few more children for the Empress. Don't be like your father, even though he was incompetent, he still had five sons and four daughters."

Four daughters, one of whom did not grow up. Five sons, all of whom are now alive and well, one of whom even sits on the dragon throne.

The younger brother is behaving like a younger brother should, which is something to be happy about, and it's also something that seems quite 'heartwarming'. Especially in a place like the royal family, there's definitely a lack of warmth.

Therefore, Zhu Yunying still had some comforting aspects; he had younger siblings, which meant he didn't lack family affection. Of course, Zhu Yunying also had reason to be grateful that his grandfather was still alive, ensuring he had no shortage of family ties.

After chatting with Old Zhu for a while, Zhu Yunying seemed quite happy and satisfied. This was probably because it seemed he wouldn't need to be on the front lines for the upcoming matters, allowing him to focus on many things.

Whether it's a protracted war or a direct blitzkrieg, it doesn't really matter.

All we need to do is calm down and wait for what happens next. Zhu Yunying didn't intend to completely abolish the title of Duke Yansheng, because Confucius held a very special place in the hearts of scholars. Besides the fact that scholars needed a spiritual totem, Zhu Yunying genuinely didn't want to establish a new one, and those other people might not be as suitable as Confucius.

We just need to curb the Kong family's growth a little, and make sure they don't get too arrogant.

There's no need to worry about the commotion in the court for now; Zhu Yunying knows he genuinely doesn't have time to deal with such matters.

For Zhu Yunying, the most important things right now are the war in the north and the upcoming return of the retired emperor to his ancestral home to pay respects to his ancestors. These are the most important matters; the title of Duke Yansheng and such can be disregarded for the time being.

The retired emperor is about to return to his hometown, which is an extremely important event and something that many people are currently concerned about.

Meanwhile, the three armies of the Ming Dynasty were ready. Although the nomadic peoples were now a remnant of the Yuan Dynasty, they were weakened and no longer the Mongol cavalry that had swept across the world.

However, even a weakened camel is bigger than a horse. In the era of cold weapons, these northern cavalry were always a force that could not be ignored.

While it's not about achieving complete victory in one battle, it's certainly possible to further weaken an already weakened nomadic people. Furthermore, a new emperor's ascension to the throne requires some military achievements to embellish the occasion.

After all, the world had been at peace for only a short time, and the Ming Dynasty needed a martial emperor who was 'capable of conquering and fighting'.