While Zhu Yunying was busy planning for the future, Zhu Yuanzhang was also cultivating the future of the Ming Dynasty.

"This Fengyang Prefecture, before, submitted a memorial to your father, saying that they were suffering from drought and wanted the court to reduce grain taxes." Old Zhu said to Little Zhu, who was sitting next to him reading the official gazette, while sipping his tea. "But you and the others have also read it these past few days, do you think the taxes should be reduced?"

Little Zhu chewed on his pen, thought for a moment, and said, "Great-grandfather, we have seen that some areas have suffered from disasters, and we are afraid that there is not much food."

Old Zhu nodded slightly, signaling Little Zhu to continue. Old Zhu could see some things too; the arrival of the spring drought had indeed made some of the seedlings look wilted, as if they were about to die.

Little Zhu thought for a moment and said, "Then, let's reduce the grain tax for those few villages and those two counties, that will be fine. The whole prefecture is definitely not an option. Our Great Ming is not short of grain, and we can't reduce it like that. Our father still has to fight outside."

Old Zhu laughed and said to Little Zhu, "If you ask me, we shouldn't reduce taxes. Those millet plants may look wilted, but they can still survive. Even if production is reduced, it won't be to the point that a family can't survive. Remember, when the emperor needs to be ruthless, he must be ruthless. If taxes are reduced for such a minor drought today, then other places will also be submitting similar reports in the future."

Little Zhu was puzzled and asked, "Great-grandfather, you used to reduce taxes in many places."

Old Zhu agreed with this point, but still said, "The places where we've reduced taxes have either suffered a major disaster or had previous unrest. As the emperor, it's true that we should pity our people. But you also need to see clearly whether the people are truly unable to survive, or whether the officials are just trying to gain fame and reputation. Is this drought really that serious?"

Little Zhu shook his head, then gritted his teeth, "Then let's issue an imperial edict immediately. This prefect of Luzhou Prefecture is truly outrageous."

Old Zhu continued, “What are you saying? This place has indeed suffered a disaster, and there has indeed been some drought. He is only thinking about the people under his jurisdiction. How will you punish him? If you punish him for this, other local officials will think about collecting taxes and not caring about the lives of the people.”

Little Zhu was completely confused. Seeing Little Zhu's bewildered and troubled expression, Old Zhu chuckled.

"Remember this well. Think about what these officials were thinking when they submitted their memorials. If they truly care about the people, we'll still use them in the future. If they're just seeking fame and fortune, learn from your father and keep this in mind. Then find a pretext to punish them. That's exactly what your father likes best. They're all people who need to be punished, and your father still wants to use them."

Little Zhu suddenly remembered something and said with a grin, "My little aunt said that her great-grandfather and grandfather found her a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), but our father rejected it. Our father sent that person to the border, and less than half a year after taking office, he colluded with the Tartars, so our father chopped off his head and sent it to the Nine Borders."

Old Zhu suddenly felt short of breath and scolded irritably, "Look at you, your father is a worry, and your aunts are a worry too! Would I, as their father, harm them? We just thought Ouyang Lun had some talent and wanted to find a good match for your aunts. It's just that they kept bringing this up, and we're afraid of them."

Little Zhu chuckled and said, "Then we'll remember this prefect. If he's up to no good, we'll find him a job so he can rise to power. Once he's done well, we'll kill him to scare the other officials."

Old Zhu smiled and nodded, not at all thinking that Little Zhu was ruthless. After all, Little Zhu was the Crown Prince; he had to be ruthless when necessary.

"And another thing, remember that we must be ruthless when necessary with our own clan." Old Zhu was actually quite distressed as he said, "Look at this Prince Zhaode, how vicious he is! If it weren't for your father's magnanimity, Prince Qin and Prince Jin probably wouldn't have been able to handle it. We should be generous to our clan members, that's true. But when we encounter insidious villains, we can't just let things slide."

Little Zhu was still very confident, saying, "Great-grandfather, the Ming Dynasty will belong to us from now on. We can tolerate others. Our father could even tolerate our third uncle, so we can tolerate others too. As long as the imperial family doesn't cause trouble, wealth and honor are guaranteed."

Old Zhu smiled, genuinely approving, "You and your father are both magnanimous people. It's also because we raised you well. You all wish the emperor would die, and you all feel that the Ming Dynasty should belong to you."

Little Zhu immediately objected, becoming anxious, "We won't allow our great-grandfather to die, nor will we allow our father to die! Even if we don't become emperor, the Ming Dynasty is still ours! Our father said that this is our empire, and no one can covet it."

Actually, Joo Yoon-young didn't say such things to Little Joo, but Old Joo said similar things quite often to Little Joo.

“Your second uncle got into trouble and ran away. There’s nothing we can do about him. It’s only because your dad is protecting him that he has to clean up the mess himself.” Old Zhu was even more helpless, and also a little amused and annoyed. “Your dad takes good care of your second uncle, eldest aunt, and youngest aunt. Your mother is also going to give you a younger brother or sister soon. You should learn from her.”

Little Zhu grinned and said proudly, "Our younger brother and sister are definitely not like our second uncle. We'll teach them well in the future, and we'll definitely be able to teach them well."

Old Zhu glanced at Little Zhu, and then refrained from saying anything. If the Empress's second child is a prince, it's better to raise him to a more affluent and privileged position, and avoid teaching him anything about imperial strategy or the like.

This explains why, even though Lady Lü consciously indulged Zhu Yunwen when he was young, the elder Zhu and the younger Zhu did not say much, even though they could see it. In their minds, all that mattered was that the young Zhu was smart and diligent in his studies; others could study if they wanted, but like Zhu Yunwen, they only studied the Four Books and Five Classics.

The art of rulership cannot be taught. Even if the empress bore the emperor another child, Emperor Zhu had no interest in teaching her personally.

It wasn't just because Old Zhu was indeed biased and doted on Little Zhu; it was also because he didn't want his brothers to fight amongst themselves. Being the 'second son of the emperor' was often the most difficult, and at times, it was also the easiest time for him to have all sorts of complicated thoughts.

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