Seeing Zhu Yunying's frustration, Old Zhu couldn't help but laugh, even with a hint of smugness and gloating.

Speaking of scholars, Zhu Yuanzhang (the Hongwu Emperor) had a lot to say about this. When he was conquering the country, he was looked down upon by scholars. Among his initial group, only Li Shanchang could be considered a scholar.

After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Zhu was indeed worried about the shortage of civil officials. This was partly because some scholars still harbored feelings for the Yuan Dynasty, and partly because the Mongol Yuan Dynasty had somewhat influenced the literary style of China.

Just look at the founding team of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, and you can see some clues by looking at the civil and military officials in the early Ming Dynasty court. It really can be said that 'heroes are not judged by their origins,' and many important officials could not be considered true scholars in the traditional sense.

Even many civil officials did not necessarily come from the traditional 'promotion channels' or from the imperial examination system.

Even so, the Hongwu reign was still a time of great talent. Most of the civil and military officials currently employed by Zhu Yunying were from the Hongwu era. Whether they held high positions or were just beginning to distinguish themselves during the Hongwu reign, they were all essentially from that period.

Zhu Yunying sighed and said to Old Zhu, "The North is doing alright now; at least the people's hearts are somewhat won over."

Old Zhu didn't actually particularly agree with Zhu Yunying's optimism.

Although after the Northern Expedition, Zhu Yuanzhang finally brought the north, which was far from Han Chinese rule, back into the orthodox rule of China, after hundreds of years of foreign rule, even with a series of Sinicization efforts and the reintroduction of Han culture, the people in the north are not necessarily willing to submit now.

Whether it was relocating Mongols, stipulating that they could only wear Han Chinese clothing, or even recruiting northern scholars through the Northern Examinations, and even moving the capital to Beiping, all of these measures were actually aimed at better governance and winning over the hearts and minds of the people.

It's just that the time frame is too short—thirty-two years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty. The Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, lost for four hundred years, were also recovered at the same time. But four hundred years and thirty-two years—that's not just one or two generations; it's more like ten generations!

Zhu Yunying looked at the old Zhu and continued, "Grandfather, there will be some activity from Goryeo in the next few days. I think it would be better if you went to the court."

Old Zhu frowned slightly and said to Zhu Yunying, "Ying'er, you have been on the throne for three years now, and you have the court and the people under your control. If you ask me, we should not go to court. Otherwise, it's hard to say what the people below will say about you, and they will think that we have been keeping you in check."

The reason why Lao Zhu was so worried was mainly because he knew that his prestige was too great and would have a significant impact on Xiao Zhu.

Even though he is now the retired emperor, the people in the court and the public are far more afraid of and respectful of the Hongwu Emperor than of the Ying Shi Emperor.

Furthermore, as the retired emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't have much attachment to power; he only cared that his grandson govern the country well. However, some people in the court might have had other thoughts, feeling that the retired emperor had never truly handed over power.

Especially in the event of any major incident, Emperor Zhu, the retired emperor, would appear in court. This easily leads people to speculate that Emperor Hongwu was still the true power holder of the Ming Dynasty, and that Emperor Yingshi was not yet truly 'ruling in person'.

"Grandfather, please don't overthink it." Zhu Yunying laughed, unconcerned. "Do you think our Ming Dynasty is any different? Do you think our court officials don't know?"

It seems that Old Zhu could guess what Zhu Yunying was going to say. He actually thought so too, but he was worried that outsiders wouldn't understand.

"When I was still the Crown Prince, I was already reviewing memorials. Many memorials were reviewed by me before being sent to my grandfather for his review," Zhu Yunying said to his father with a hint of pride. "If you didn't know better, you would think that I had usurped my grandfather's power and that I could have become emperor long ago."

After pouring tea for Old Zhu, Zhu Yunying continued, "Even for ourselves, some things are hard to predict in the future. We may not be as willing to relinquish power as our Imperial Grandfather."

Old Zhu didn't mind, and simply said, "If you two are successful, we're naturally willing to let you go. We don't think we'll worry about you and Yin'er in the future. When you're old enough, let him go and observe politics. If you're busy enough, you can manage the government yourself. Just find some small tasks for him to practice on."

As for whether emperors should relinquish power like he did, Zhu Yuanzhang wasn't actually particularly concerned. He understood that most people sitting on the dragon throne wouldn't be willing to relinquish power, even to their own sons.

As long as the position of the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty is secure, and as long as the succession of the Ming Dynasty is orderly, a little training for the crown prince is enough.

Zhu Yuanzhang knew that it was quite unusual for him to train the crown prince and the grandson of the emperor in this way; such a thing was almost unheard of in any dynasty.

“Then let’s go to the court.” Old Zhu also made a quick decision and said to Zhu Yunying, “Once we go there, you can use the tiger’s skin as a banner. We won’t say anything, we’ll just see which people are dishonest.”

Zhu Yunying smiled and nodded, agreeing with this point. "That's what I was thinking too. I know that the court will not be of one mind on such an important matter. It's just that there are some people that I'm afraid I can't see through, so I need to ask my grandfather to help me take a look."

Gu Yan

Since Zhu Yunying had said so, Old Zhu naturally had no reason to object. He felt that these were all the things he could do now. He didn't have the energy to govern, but he was quite confident in helping his grandson look after people.

Just as the grandfather and grandson were chatting about some official matters, a chubby, round head peeked out from behind the door, clinging to the doorframe.

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