Upon returning to the palace, Zhu Yunying immediately got to work, with countless memorials to review and approve.

Holding the memorial, Zhu Yunying went straight to the Qianqing Palace. There were some things he needed to discuss with the old Zhu. In particular, it was time to collect merits, and in principle, those who made contributions would be rewarded. However, some things were not so simple.

"Grandfather, the army has returned to the capital, and Fu Youde and the others should be back by now." Zhu Yunying spoke directly, without any beating around the bush. "Fu Youde can only be posthumously granted the title of king. We've already discussed those matters."

Old Zhu nodded and then said, "Fu Zhong was originally the heir apparent, so Fu Rang will go to the Eastern Palace. As for Fu Youde, we can't reward him much."

There was nothing left to discuss, which served as a wake-up call for the ministers. However, the Ming Dynasty didn't need to worry about that now; both Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Yunying were in control. Most importantly, although it seemed impossible to further reward Fu Youde, they could make up for it elsewhere.

Old Zhu seemed to remember something and said, "You've got Lan Yu under your thumb for life."

"Let's not talk about our maternal grandmother's relationship or our mother's reasons. We've already given him a son of the Zhu family, so he should work for us." Zhu Yunying said irritably, "My uncle, the Prince of Shu, is still cursing me now, because my second legitimate son became the heir of the Duke of Liang."

He abandoned the army and ran back, making some contributions but then committing a mistake. There's really no need to worry about Lan Yu. This guy is very good at making contributions, but he's also very good at making mistakes, so his merits and demerits can barely be considered to cancel each other out.

Xu Huizu was willing to risk his life for his nephew, after all, he was a top-tier maternal relative, the crown prince was his nephew.

Zhu Yunying said with a smile, "Duke, this time we plan to let Feng Cheng inherit the title. After all, Feng Guoyong was the one who devised the strategy to take Yingtian Prefecture. Over the years, our little brother-in-law has also made many contributions, so it's time to give him the title of Duke of Ying."

Old Zhu nodded, then said, "Ying'er, you've earned quite a few merits this time, haven't you? We finally managed to get rid of some nobles a few years ago, and you've brought them back in one go."

"Li Shanchang stripped us of our titles as one of the six founding dukes. Deng Yu's eldest son married Li Shanchang's granddaughter, and he was also stripped of his title and killed. As for Tang He, there's nothing we can do; his descendants all died young and he has no way to inherit the title. Half of the six founding dukes are gone. We can only let Lan Yu and Fu Youde fill the gaps. Feng Cheng will inherit the title, and we can rightfully give Feng Sheng's sons military power."

Feng Cheng is Feng Sheng's nephew, and Feng Sheng is arguably the most capable and accomplished general in the Ming Dynasty at present. However, due to his great achievements and occasional private contact with his son-in-law Zhu Su, he has been largely sidelined in recent years, mainly going to Korea and Japan to help with firefighting. He is now retired in his hometown.

Old Zhu nodded. In truth, Mu Chun, the Duke of Qian, had only been promoted recently. Young Zhu's brother-in-law had merely been stationed in Yunnan, without much opportunity to enter the central government. He was only better off than those posthumously granted dukedoms at the founding of the dynasty; he couldn't significantly influence the court's power structure.

Old Zhu nodded and said to Zhu Yunying, "Duke, we really don't lack anything. Now, let Feng Cheng inherit the title. As for the others, they will at most be granted the title of Marquis. We killed a lot of people in the past few years, and the most Marquises were killed."

Of the seventy-nine founding marquises, half have been killed, deposed, or lost their titles for other reasons over the years. It's only right to bestow a few more marquises at this point. It's crucial to constantly replenish the ranks of the nobility with fresh blood; Zhu Yunying's greatest fear was the rapid decline of the nobility after the country was at peace.

Zhu Yunying needs to prepare for these things in advance, and these are also things he needs to be wary of.

Looking at the list, Old Zhu chuckled and said, "That works too. Some of the people we had before might not have been easy for you to use. The marquises you've appointed are all your people, and they'll definitely be grateful to you."

"Because of my grandson, quite a few people have been granted titles of nobility and dukedom." Zhu Yunying couldn't help but laugh, a little smug. "Grandpa, I don't care whether those people started their careers with you or with us. They are all subjects of our Great Ming Dynasty."

“That’s different!” Old Zhu said with certainty, “Some of our old brothers are not very reliable. They risked their lives with us when we were young and were fine. But now that the world is at peace, they are no longer capable and can no longer go to the battlefield.”

That's true. Some people who risked their lives enjoyed wealth and luxury after the founding of the Ming Dynasty and are now intoxicated by it. It's impossible to send them to fight now, and even their descendants might not be reliable.

Old Zhu nodded and tentatively asked, "Shall we send Yunhuo with the Crown Prince?"

Zhu Yunying smiled and nodded, saying without hesitation, "It would be good if we went to personally welcome the army, but it would also be fine if our Crown Prince went. It's just that our Crown Prince is a bit too young. If he were a little older, then Yunying wouldn't need to go."

Old Zhu suddenly remembered something and laughed, "We originally said that Yun Tong was a wealthy and noble prince, and that he wouldn't do any work. But look again, our Yun Tong is always your assistant, and he takes our crown prince with him wherever he goes."

Hearing Old Zhu's reminder, Zhu Yunying chuckled, "Now that you mention it, Yunying has really accomplished quite a bit. We used to just ask him to do things occasionally, but he can't make decisions or handle big tasks. Fortunately, he does small things quite well."

Old Zhu still approves of it, because Zhu Yunying really is just a tool. Whenever he is around, Zhu Yunying habitually orders his younger brother around.

It's true that he was a wealthy and powerful prince, but it's also true that he was a tool prince, as Zhu Yunwen had to handle quite a few tasks. Of course, if you were to ask him for merit or to cultivate his own power base in the court, he not only lacked the opportunity and ability, but he probably didn't even have such a thought.

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