It is often said that the Han dynasty ruled the country with filial piety, but in fact, every dynasty in the Central Plains ruled the country with filial piety. In the traditional culture of Chinese civilization, filial piety is an important part of ethical principles.

In ordinary families, if someone is unfilial, the entire society is essentially doomed. And if the crown prince is unfilial, it will naturally cause concern among the civil and military officials and the people of the land.

Therefore, matters such as ancestor worship are never trivial matters and must be treated with great care.

Zhu Yunying naturally focused on his duties, prioritizing the handling of state affairs. As for the officials who were extremely busy during this period, Zhu Yunying didn't pay much attention to them.

They probably learned bad habits from Zhu Yuanzhang; they were very fond of receiving good fortune and engaging in cutthroat competition. The 996 work schedule (9am-9pm, 6 days a week) was not enough for these two emperors. These two diligent emperors hoped that civil and military officials would receive one salary but do ten times the work, ideally with everyone working tirelessly, as that would make them good ministers.

Zhu Yunying, who was quite adept at handling political affairs, was in a relatively good mood during this period. Overall, many things were proceeding in an orderly manner and were being carried out according to the established plans, which was good news for him.

There are no problems with taxation, and the overall economy is steadily increasing. The population and land area are growing, and military strength remains at a fairly strong level—all of which are quite good things.

Although there were some minor flaws in the administration, fortunately, there was no large-scale corruption, which made Zhu Yunying feel a little more at ease.

These were undoubtedly good things for Joo Yun-young, and they truly made him feel more at ease. Everything was developing in a positive direction, which was perfectly fine, and it was exactly what Joo Yun-young had been hoping for.

Moreover, whether it was the trial operation of the bank, the establishment of the martial arts academy, or the integration of land tax and poll tax, all were proceeding in an orderly manner, which gave Zhu Yunying more hope.

The Ministry of Industry College and Longjiang Shipyard, which he had always valued, did not bring Zhu Yunying any huge surprises, but they were indeed making continuous progress.

It doesn't matter if there isn't a leapfrog development in technology; as long as the Ming Dynasty continues to progress, accumulating technology and advancing science, that's enough. After all, the Ming Dynasty and Chinese civilization at this stage don't really need to catch up with others, because they are already ahead of their time.

Zhu Yunying was quite confident. He believed that in the first two years of his reign as emperor, the transfer of power had been incredibly stable, without any turmoil, and the entire Ming Dynasty was developing in a prosperous direction.

Furthermore, some of his plans have progressed smoothly, which may contribute to the dynasty's greater prosperity.

Old Zhu was very happy, naturally because he saw his beloved grandson's outstanding work. As long as his precious grandson didn't suddenly become senile, he was sure to become a wise ruler, and the Ming Dynasty would definitely become even stronger.

Little Zhu was happy for two reasons: worshipping ancestors was one thing, and going out to play was another.

“This year, let’s have a slightly grander celebration in the palace,” Zhu Yunying said to his father, Zhu Yunying, while drinking. “Grandfather is frugal, and we’re not extravagant either. We can’t even afford to build a palace for the retired emperor. We’re still living in the East Palace, which should have been Yin’er’s residence.”

Old Zhu waved his hand and said with a smile, "That's very good. If you built a palace for us, we wouldn't feel at ease living there. We're getting old, and we feel at ease with you and Yin'er by our side. If you didn't want to live in the Qianqing Palace, we would have given it all to you."

This wasn't just Zhu being polite; he was willing to give up the throne, so there was no reason for him to be reluctant to give up the Qianqing Palace.

“Exactly!” Little Zhu chimed in. “We don’t want to travel around. We’ll stay in the capital and not build any new palaces.”

Watching his great-grandson busily pouring wine, Old Zhu was even happier. "Having this precious little darling makes me so happy. With Yin'er by my side, I'm sure I can live a few more years without any problem. If Yin'er were gone, I might just kick the bucket tomorrow."

Little Zhu was displeased and put down the wine pot. "Don't talk about these things! Nobody is allowed to die!"

Old Zhu and Little Zhu immediately shut up, knowing they needed to consider the child's feelings. Although Little Zhu might not fully understand, he had a general idea of ​​most things.

Old Zhu had long since seen through the nature of life and death, and had never shied away from discussing such matters. The reason he could talk about it with Little Zhu was probably because Little Zhu wasn't averse to such things; he could just say it and even joke about it with him.

But since Little Zhu is unhappy now, Old Zhu is naturally unwilling to talk about it either, at least not in front of his beloved great-grandson.

“Let’s talk about this year,” Zhu Yunying said to Old Zhu with a smile. “On New Year’s Eve, we won’t celebrate with the people. The palace can be brightly lit, and we’ll summon all the members of the imperial clan.”

Old Zhu nodded with a smile. The Ming Dynasty was no longer as impoverished as it was at the beginning of its founding. After more than thirty years of diligent governance, while it may not have endless wealth, the Ming Dynasty's finances were now much better. Moreover, there had been no war this year, saving a considerable amount of money.

Actually, there were other reasons why Zhu Yuanzhang was happy. The princes of the Ming Dynasty were now either in Beiping or Yingtian. Even though he always valued the eldest son and his direct descendants the most, it didn't mean that Zhu Yuanzhang didn't care about his other sons and grandsons.

Since it's New Year's Eve, it would be good to invite all the members of the imperial clan to come and see their other children and grandchildren as well. Old Zhu was quite happy about it.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!