Little Zhu immediately stood up. In fact, it wasn't just Little Zhu; everyone except Old Zhu stood up. Only Old Zhu sat there with a smile, watching everyone celebrate his birthday.

The little prince's performance was quite good, and everyone seemed quite satisfied with him. Although he's usually mischievous, he didn't let us down at this crucial moment.

Music, wine, soup, and meals—all these had specific procedures. Even picking up chopsticks had to follow a set pattern; it wasn't something you could just do whenever you wanted. If anything deviated from the procedure, the censor would certainly record it.

Overall, Old Zhu's birthday banquet was quite well organized; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it was a cause for celebration.

Old Zhu was also very happy at this time. On this birthday, Old Zhu naturally spoke up and said some things that seemed extremely important.

The first thing was to confirm some of the rules governing the imperial family of the Ming Dynasty. Many of the princes of the Ming Dynasty would no longer be allowed to take up their fiefdoms; instead, the court would build princely residences in Yingtian Prefecture and Beiping City.

Regardless of what the royal family members think, at this time, even if they are unhappy inside, they cannot show any dissatisfaction on the surface. Otherwise, they will be burdened with the accusation of harboring resentment and will inevitably suffer some setbacks.

Although there had been rumors of the court reducing the power of the princes for some time, and the court had even taken some actions before, it was clear to anyone with discerning eyes that the court was determined to reduce the power of the princes.

Now it's completely clear: with Zhu Yuanzhang speaking, his power is overwhelming. If any member of the imperial clan dares to oppose Zhu Yuanzhang's decision, they'll be considered disloyal and unfilial.

In reality, the vast majority of court officials supported the reduction of the power of the regional princes, as they seemed to offer some assistance to the court. However, in the eyes of many officials, the regional princes certainly posed more of a threat.

Now that the imperial court is reducing the power of the regional military governors, these people naturally feel that it is a win-win situation, and there is naturally no opposition from the court or the public.

For Zhu Yunying, the task of reducing the power of the princes was accomplished so easily and smoothly. In fact, in Zhu Yunying's mind, he never thought that reducing the power of the princes was a difficult task.

Especially now that Zhu Yuanzhang is involved, reducing the power of the princes is a natural progression. With Zhu Yuanzhang in charge, this task is even easier. As long as he approves, there will be absolutely no difficulty in reducing their power.

After all, to these princes and nobles, Zhu Yuanzhang was not only the emperor, but also their father and grandfather. All their honors were bestowed by him, so he naturally had the right to strip them of those honors.

In Zhu Yunying's mind, the princes of the imperial clan were never a major threat, at least not at this stage. Zhu Yunying simply didn't want the princes to become too powerful, so he decided to eliminate them now.

This matter can be considered a "happy ending for everyone," with only the princes who had previously been enfeoffed feeling a bit down. Most others felt it was a good thing for the country and its people.

As for whether others were losing their appetite at this time, it didn't seem to be a major issue. Even if the power of the princes was reduced, Zhu Yunying wouldn't mistreat these members of the imperial clan; that was certainly not a problem.

In high spirits, Zhu Yunying felt that this had eliminated many potential threats in advance. While it seemed the princes of the Ming Dynasty couldn't possibly become too powerful over time, they could indeed eventually do so. Now, these threats had been legitimately resolved, and it was time to raise a large toast.

Seeing that Zhu Yunying was in a good mood, Old Zhu smiled as well, as he was also in a very good mood.

Besides the capable eldest grandson, there was also the great-grandson who had been so serious just moments before, now enjoying his meal immensely. Old Zhu felt happy and satisfied just watching them.

In addition to announcing the legitimate removal of the vassal kings, Zhu Yuanzhang also took the opportunity to announce the full-scale launch of the Royal Bank. For many, this was not necessarily a good thing.

However, with the retired emperor in charge at this stage, and with Emperor Ying Shi making decisions unilaterally, it seems that the establishment of the Royal Bank is not a problem at all!