It's no surprise that some members of the imperial clan were not very capable; such things were perfectly normal.

Just because this is the royal family doesn't mean everyone has to be virtuous. Even among the families of civil and military officials, there are bound to be some spoiled brats. And even ordinary families might have one or two good-for-nothing children—that's perfectly normal.

Moreover, the vast majority of members of the imperial family were born with a silver spoon in their mouths, enjoying extraordinary status. Therefore, it was quite normal for some to be spoiled or arrogant.

Ordinary laws are not very effective in restraining this group. Not to mention Zhu Yunying, even if the old Zhu was as loving as his own children and his education was relatively strict, quite a few of his sons still committed crimes.

Zhu Yunying seemed quite calm. He didn't care much about the commotion at the Prince of Jin's residence, as long as it wasn't too excessive.

Moreover, these actions could be considered Zhu Yunying's deliberate planning. It was time for Zhu Jixi, the Prince of Jin, to give his lineage a good thrashing. His half-brother, Zhu Jihuang, was a complete villain and scoundrel. Not only was he unruly, but he was also constantly making false accusations, trying to overthrow his elder brother.

This is clearly not a good thing. If Zhu Yunying approves of some of Zhu Jihuang's actions, and then deposes Zhu Jixi, it would naturally mean that the title of Prince of Jin would fall to Zhu Jihuang, who was "meritorious in reporting the crime."

This would obviously cause unrest within the imperial clan, and other members of the imperial clan might start to have wicked ideas.

If they could bring down their elder brother and even their father, they could take their place. For many, this would be a great advantage; why should they only be able to become a prince, a general who protects the state, or a general who assists the state? They could have much more to look forward to.

As for Zhu Jihuang, let's set aside the fact that Zhu Yunying disliked this unruly cousin. Moreover, as an emperor, sometimes one needs to show the decisiveness to execute Ma Su with tears in one's eyes. What he needed was stability within the imperial clan, not to deal with internal strife every day.

He has a lot to do, and he doesn't have the energy to spend on these things.

After finishing the letter, Zhu Yunying said, "Send this memorial to Fengyang by fast horse."

Wang Chengen received the letter with both hands, raised it above his head, slowly took a few steps back, and then turned around. This series of movements was fluid and graceful; even though Zhu Yunying was reviewing memorials after handing over the letter, Wang Chengen dared not be careless in the slightest.

Just after instructing the young eunuch to deliver the message, Wang Chengen saw Yan Zhenzhi. "Minister Yan, His Majesty is not in a good mood today. If you come to see him at this time, you will probably be scolded."

"Thank you for your advice, Wang Daban." Although Yan Zhenzhi was a minister, he still showed respect to Wang Chengen on the surface. "We have some good news to share today, and His Majesty will surely be pleased to hear it."

Wang Chengen immediately smiled, genuinely happy, "That's wonderful! Your Majesty has been quite unhappy these past few days, and it pains me to see it. In the entire court these past few days, not a single person has been able to please Your Majesty. It is indeed the old ministers from the Prince's residence who are best able to share Your Majesty's burdens."

Hearing Wang Chengen's words, Yan Zhenzhi couldn't help but laugh. He and Wang Chengen had a fairly harmonious relationship. Besides the fact that Wang Chengen was the emperor's personal eunuch, it was also because they were both old ministers from the time when the emperor was still a prince, and they had known each other since they were young.

Although this position is so insignificant, it still feels quite unattainable. However, these people are all veteran officials from the Prince's residence, and they all accompanied Zhu Yunying to Beiping Prefecture to build the imperial city back then.

The two of them didn't say much more. After all, they still had important business to attend to, and these important matters couldn't be delayed.

Moreover, both men were well aware that although they were both veteran officials from the time the emperor was still alive, Wang Chengen was an inner court official while Yan Zhenzhi was an outer court official. If the two of them were to have too good a relationship in private, the emperor would definitely not be happy.

Therefore, it's better to keep a certain distance. Wang Chengen understood this principle, and Yan Zhenzhi and the others naturally understood the intricacies of the matter even more.

With a powerful emperor, it's not necessarily a good thing for officials, let alone eunuchs and ministers, to get too close to each other. For example, Ru Chang and Yan Zhenzhi were both veteran officials from the time the emperor was still alive, and they were trusted and relied upon by the emperor.

However, both of them held the high-ranking position of Minister, and they knew better than anyone that they couldn't get too close. Otherwise, it would be considered forming a faction. If it really came to that, their current glory might become their death warrant. These veteran officials were also well aware of the current emperor's personality.

Wang Chengen returned to the Wuying Hall and naturally relayed Yan Zhenzhi's message. Zhu Yunying didn't even look up; he simply received him.

"No need for formalities," Zhu Yunying said directly. "Zhenzhi, is there something important you need to see me about today?"

Yan Zhenzhi's courtesy name was "Zhenzhi," which was also the name given to him by Zhu De. Using one's courtesy name as a given name was not a disgrace; rather, it was a favor and an honor for Yan Zhenzhi.

Yan Zhenzhi immediately said, "Your Majesty, the Longjiang Shipyard has said that new ships can be built. The Fujian ships at the Quanzhou Shipyard have the Huang family involved. They are tall like buildings, with flat bottoms and deep depths, and are powerful enough to be used for plundering. The ships are all equipped with firearms, including large firearms such as mortars, bowl-shaped cannons, bird-beak cannons, and flamethrowers."

This is indeed good news. Although Zhu Yunying has always valued ocean voyages over the years, the Ming Dynasty has indeed never stopped building large ships capable of ocean voyages, further improving and perfecting the Fujian ships that existed during the Song Dynasty.

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