Reforming the bureaucracy is never a trivial matter, and it's understandable that Zhu Yunying took it very seriously. This wasn't something only Zhu Yunying would do; he simply reiterated the importance of reforming the bureaucracy.

Old Zhu, far away in his hometown of Fengyang, was wandering around with his beloved great-grandson. If it weren't for the fact that Old Master Zhu and young Master Zhu were dressed in brocade robes, and that there were some strong men guarding them, one might easily think that Old Zhu had returned to his old ways and started a life of wandering.

Looking at the official gazette at the city gate, Little Zhu was very happy, "Our father has issued another decree."

Old Zhu nodded with satisfaction and said to Little Zhu, "That's good. I just felt that your father was sometimes too soft-hearted. After all, he has never been to the battlefield and can't bear to see blood. If there is merit, we will reward him with money, high-ranking positions, and titles. As long as he breaks the law, he should be killed. We must not be soft-hearted."

Little Zhu immediately spoke up, sounding very determined, "I'll drink from the golden cup with you, but I won't spare you with a bare blade!"

Old Zhu laughed heartily; these were the words he had spoken to Ru Taisu during their meal together: "I'll drink and chat with you in public, but I'll show no mercy when it comes to killing you."

Old Zhu patted Little Zhu's head and said, "Remember this well, you will be the emperor someday. Sometimes, don't be soft-hearted. I know I've wrongly killed some people, and I just can't bear it, but I still have to kill them! Why? Because I want to govern the country well, and I can't let those people hinder me!"

Little Zhu nodded seriously and said, "Our dad also said that there is no such thing as fairness, right or wrong, it's just a matter of whether it should be done or not!"

"That's the good thing about your father; he understands the principles," Old Zhu said with a hint of helplessness. "It's just that sometimes he's a bit soft-hearted when it comes to doing things. If it were up to us, Zhang Wen wouldn't have been exiled; we would have brought him to justice!"

Little Zhu was unhappy and grabbed Old Zhu's arm, saying, "Great-grandfather, our father is the emperor now. You can only bear it if you're unhappy. If you go against our father's decree, our father will lose face and won't be able to convince the people in court."

Old Zhu was even happier, but he also complained, "Your dad, your dad?! You were raised by us, why are you closer to him than to us?"

Little Zhu chuckled and said, "In front of our great-grandfather, we protect our father. In front of our father, we don't allow him to speak ill of our great-grandfather. Our father is the worst; he just loves to gossip about our great-grandfather. If you ask me, our great-grandfather shouldn't have trusted him and shouldn't have let him become emperor so early."

"If he doesn't become emperor, can you become the crown prince? Then, can we take you out to travel and enjoy the scenery?" Old Zhu laughed, but still looked at the official gazette. "Your father has really made up his mind this time. He even dealt with Ru Chang and Chang Mao."

Little Zhu chuckled and said, "If we want to go out and play, we can just let him oversee the country. There's no need to pass the throne on. But speaking of which, how did the Duke of Kaiping get into trouble again? Great-grandfather, should we submit a memorial to plead for him? We can't let our father be criticized by the officials."

Seeing that little Zhu was a bit anxious, Old Zhu was still very happy.

In other dynasties, familial ties within the imperial family were often distant. But in the Zhu family, it was different; at least, this didn't exist between the emperor and the crown prince.

Old Zhu explained, "There's no need to submit a memorial, and your father didn't severely punish Chang Mao; he just made him reflect on his actions behind closed doors. Chang Mao is, after all, the emperor's maternal uncle, and his status is unusual. I reckon this matter was either instigated by your second uncle or he did it himself."

Seeing that Little Zhu still seemed a bit confused, Old Zhu continued, "The Prince of Kaiping's family is, after all, the emperor's maternal clan, and they wield real power. If such a family is just trying to gain fame and win people's hearts, then we should be careful. Think of Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian, and Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin; they didn't hesitate to seize their sons-in-law's thrones or bully orphans and widows."

Little Zhu nodded blankly, then suddenly asked, "What if we become emperors? What will happen to our uncle? Our uncle can lead troops."

“Your eldest uncle is very old and probably won’t outlive your father,” Old Zhu said with a smile. “If he were still alive then, we would let him enjoy his retirement. Back then, we prevented Tang He and Feng Sheng from leading troops because of their great achievements, but it was also because they secretly colluded with other members of the imperial clan.”

Little Zhu nodded seriously and said, "Alright, then we won't let Uncle and the others lead troops anymore, they'll just stay right under our noses."

Shuangquan cautiously approached and said, "Your Majesty, Your Highness, His Majesty has sent another letter home."

Little Zhu immediately snatched it, checked the seal, and then tore it open. "Bring me pen and ink. Let's have Great-Grandpa write a letter. We're not going back."

Old Zhu let his precious great-grandson run wild. In fact, seeing some of Little Zhu's behavior, Old Zhu was quite happy. This is how a qualified crown prince should behave. No matter how much he trusts those around him, he still needs to be careful when necessary and have a sense of vigilance.

Immediately, someone brought over a small table and stools, and of course, writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones were also provided.

Old Zhu sat down and looked at Little Zhu, who was grinding ink, and asked, "You said you weren't going back. If you can't say for sure, how are we supposed to go back?"

Without a second thought, Xiao Zhu said, "Our father wants us to go back again. Our great-grandfather said we're going to inspect the local areas and investigate the people's livelihood. He'll give us a few more months, and we'll go back when autumn comes."

Old Zhu laughed and said, "That's good, then we'll probably have to leave you back in our hometown. We brought you along, so you can help carry the coffin back. Now that we've seen Fengyang, are we going to Luzhou Prefecture and Runing Prefecture? Should we go around to Henan Province? Maybe we can go begging again, and you can come with us to beg for food?"

Little Zhu grinned, looking very confident, "Since we're following our great-grandfather, we're naturally not afraid. When our great-grandfather went begging, we just took a stick."

Old Zhu was stunned for a moment, then scolded angrily, "You two, father and son, just know how to rub salt in our wounds! When your great-grandmother was alive, your father, taking advantage of his young age, always acted like a spoiled child, saying that we were going to beg for food, and that he and your great-grandmother were waiting for us to come back in the dilapidated temple."

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