Whether Zhu Yunying wanted to reorganize the garrisons or develop Jingxiang, it was all Zhu Yunying's job.

For Zhu Yuanzhang, these matters were indeed none of his concern. Not because they were trivial—they were, in fact, of paramount importance, affecting the future direction of the Ming Dynasty and the stability of the Zhu family's rule. It was impossible for Zhu Yuanzhang to be indifferent to them.

However, Zhu Yunying is currently discussing these matters with his senior ministers, which is actually just a small beginning. After discussing them with the senior ministers, the matter will naturally be brought up for discussion in the imperial court. Such a national policy certainly requires the participation of everyone.

Prior to this, Zhu Yunying and Zhu Yunying had discussed it countless times, and Zhu Yunying already knew what was going on.

This means that Zhu Yunying is now discussing these matters with his court officials, which is a tacit understanding between the old Zhu and the young Zhu. There's no need for them to say anything more now; they just need to handle things properly.

Having stepped back from the limelight, Old Zhu knew that he could handle some matters himself without affecting Young Zhu's prestige. However, if he were to handle certain tasks, it would obviously put Young Zhu in a rather awkward position.

After all, Zhu Yuanzhang's prestige was unparalleled. If he were to show any concern for court affairs now, it goes without saying that the civil and military officials would first think of reporting to the retired emperor. As for the emperor himself, that could be dealt with later; they certainly knew that the retired emperor was 'more powerful'.

For Zhu Yuanzhang, he no longer needed to concern himself with matters of the court; he trusted that Zhu Yuanzhang could handle them well.

He now has a more important task, which is naturally to properly educate the Crown Prince. This is an inescapable responsibility for Old Zhu, because this is the future emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and of course he needs to be properly educated.

Old Zhu, enjoying himself immensely, was quite happy. His mischievous great-grandson kept causing a ruckus, allowing him to savor the joy of grandchildren. After all, his own precious grandson had been too well-behaved as a child, not fun at all. And even though Old Zhu doted on his grandson back then, the country was newly established, and there were many things to do.

Now that he has some free time, he can take good care of his great-grandchildren. Old Zhu must be overjoyed.

“Your father loves to meddle in business, it just infuriates us.” Sitting in a private seat in the restaurant, Old Zhu pointed to the cloth shop in front of him and said, “These are actually not so bad, they’re just ordinary people’s cloth. You know us, in our Ming Dynasty, there are rules about what clothes to wear and what cloth to use. What kind of clothes to wear for what kind of occasion, you can’t be careless about it.”

Little Zhu leaned against Old Zhu's chest, seemingly understanding something. "Father said, 'Without rules, nothing can be accomplished.'"

Old Zhu immediately beamed with joy and said, "That makes sense. We can't do without rules. There are rules in the court, rules in the family, and rules in the world. If these rules are disrupted, things will not be peaceful. So we must act according to the rules, and we must also establish some rules."

Old Zhu was immensely proud of his beloved great-grandson's intelligence and maturity. Watching little Zhu's continuous progress and learning filled Old Zhu with anticipation. He felt that the golden age of the Ming Dynasty would soon arrive.

Because of his great talent and ambition, because of his son's diligent governance, and because of his grandson's wisdom and prowess, these three generations of emperors all worked hard. When it came to young Zhu, he was absolutely capable of inheriting a prosperous era; at that time, there would surely be a glorious and prosperous empire!

Little Zhu, nestled in Old Zhu's arms, said with a grin, "Great-grandfather, we have the most clothes, we don't like new clothes."

Old Zhu couldn't help but laugh, patting Little Zhu's little bottom. "You little thing who doesn't know how lucky you are! When we were young, we never saw new clothes. Now you have so many clothes but you don't want to wear them! But that's alright. It's good that we're frugal. Our clothes are made with expensive materials and craftsmanship. If we wear less, the common people can wear more."

Old Zhu, holding little Zhu, said earnestly, "If the emperor likes to eat, drink, and have fun, the people below will try their best to coax him. In that case, the people will inevitably suffer. A good emperor should not do that. Your father is finally telling you that the lower classes follow the example of the emperor."

Little Zhu is naturally too young to understand such profound things, but Old Zhu is happy to keep educating him.

Patting little Zhu's head, Old Zhu said, "Your great-grandmother was the kindest of all, and couldn't bear to see the people suffer. Your father was also a good emperor, and he promised your great-grandmother that he would make sure the people of our Great Ming were well-fed and clothed. Look at the simple clothes we wear; it's all thanks to your father."

Little Zhu was puzzled and said, "Great-grandfather, Father doesn't farm."

Old Zhu was overjoyed; his great-grandson was so clever and quick-witted that he even knew that cotton needed to be grown.

“Your father doesn’t farm, but he’s the emperor.” Old Zhu patiently continued to speak to Little Zhu. “The emperor has to govern the world. Who farms and who governs the farmers are all decided by your father. We used to think that if we had land, we should grow grain, but your father didn’t like that.”

“When we conquered Liaodong a few years ago, your father had a lot of people plant cotton while he was in Beiping. The winter clothes for our Ming Dynasty border army were all arranged by your father. The cotton needs to be woven into cloth, and there is a lot of it. The skilled craftsmen of the Ministry of Works, which your father had arranged, took on the task, and our cloth weaving was a bit faster. Those people who moved to Beiping, the young and strong could farm and find a job, and the women and children could weave cloth to supplement their family income.”

Old Zhu was beaming with pride; he was overjoyed and delighted that his son had achieved such success.

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