For Zhu Yuanzhang, traveling incognito was a common occurrence. During his years as emperor, he rarely had the opportunity to leave the palace because he was always busy reviewing memorials. He had no interest in going out for a stroll.

However, after abdicating, and especially as young Zhu continued to grow up, Zhu did indeed have more opportunities to leave the palace.

Even though he sometimes thought about the safety of little Zhu, he also agreed with some of Zhu Yunying's views. He could not allow the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty to become a foolish person who did not know what it meant to eat meat porridge, nor could he allow the emperor of the Ming Dynasty to be unaware of the lives of ordinary people.

Old Zhu was actually quite proud of his great-grandson's performance; his precious great-grandson was quite perceptive about certain things.

Watching a herd of fine horses gallop towards the palace, Little Zhu chuckled and said, "I used to hear of people daring to ride horses in Yingtian Prefecture, but you can't see that anymore."

Old Zhu was quite pleased with this situation. "In the early years after the founding of the dynasty, many of the military officers were uncouth and thought we were their commanders. They knew nothing about the laws of the court. It was one thing for those meritorious officials to be arrogant, but many of them also failed to raise their children properly. The spoiled brats in Yingtian Prefecture did not cause any trouble."

Those spoiled brats certainly caused a lot of trouble, which naturally meant they had to pay the price for it, and that was perfectly normal.

Looking around, Little Zhu said, "Everyone outside says our father is good, that he's a kind and benevolent emperor. They also say he has many ideas and has done many things, including giving the people a way to live."

Old Zhu wasn't unhappy about this. In his mind, it was something to be happy about if his children and grandchildren were more outstanding than him. If his son and grandson were better than him, Old Zhu would only feel proud and honored, and would never be annoyed by it.

“Your father is indeed better than us. We used to think about governing the country. We always looked at the things of the previous dynasties and thought about the reasons why they lost their country.” Patting Little Zhu’s head, Old Zhu said with a smile, “We thought about many things and always felt that everything was foolproof. Your father didn’t care. He always said that each generation should do its best in its own time.”

Little Zhu said in a serious tone, "That's right. If our father hadn't encouraged the reduction of the power of the princes, the court would be busy doing so right now. The Emperor of the Han Dynasty was still thinking about bestowing favors, but our Ming Dynasty didn't."

Old Zhu slapped Little Zhu on the head and said irritably, "How can that be the same? The princes of the Han Dynasty had money and grain in their hands, and they could appoint their own officials. Which prince in our Ming Dynasty had such power? Besides, how many soldiers could a prince in our Ming Dynasty command?"

Little Zhu retorted, "Why not? Although princes in the Ming Dynasty couldn't be granted official titles, they could manage a place for a long time. That's why princes had a noble status, and local officials wouldn't dare to offend them. Maybe that's how a prince with a strong army could be formed."

Old Zhu said in a tone that, "There was no other way at that time. We had to take back military power. We didn't trust those arrogant and fierce generals. Many of them had followed us to fight for the country. If we were gone one day, there might be trouble. Taking back military power would save us a lot of trouble."

The idea of ​​regional princes establishing their own independent regimes was something that Zhu Yuanzhang had worried about, but he believed he had implemented many restrictions and had great confidence in the Zhu Yuanzhang regime, so he wasn't really worried about any rebellions by the princes.

Looking at little Zhu, old Zhu said, "Your father did many things with foresight, and now the people remember your father's kindness. In the end, it's because your father was able to think of them. His land tax reform made it impossible for many corrupt officials to do anything. We used to think the Two-Tax System was pretty good; it's an old method that's been used for hundreds of years, so it must have some use."

Little Zhu immediately replied, "That's for sure. People can only live and work if they have land. If people lose their land, it's probably not far from chaos. I've read a lot of books, and most of them are about how people only start vying for power when they have no other way to survive."

Old Zhu naturally agreed with this viewpoint, because he had experienced something similar himself. If he had owned any land back in his hometown, he wouldn't have wrapped himself in a red scarf and risked his life.

Once a ruler loses his morals and stops caring about the people, a dynasty is bound to decline rapidly.

"The common people remember your father's good deeds, but many landlords and powerful figures also remember your father's good deeds. The system your father implemented made it difficult for those people to acquire more land." Old Zhu knew this clearly and said, "Go and see for yourself in the Imperial Academy; many scholars from good families do not like your father."

It seems to be no secret that scholars disliked Zhu Yunying, and the reasons were quite similar.

The main reason for this was, of course, that Emperor Yingshi was not close to Confucianism, and that he had stripped the Duke of Yansheng of his original status in one fell swoop, which made many scholars unhappy.

Regardless of the fact that the Duke Yansheng did not seem prominent during the Tang and Song dynasties, his status was greatly elevated during the nearly one hundred years of Mongol rule. In many people's minds, the Duke Yansheng should be noble, as he was a descendant of a sage.

Moreover, Emperor Yingshi even brought up the lineage of the Duke Yansheng in the imperial court, which was utterly disgraceful.

The descendants of the sage led the way in disregarding etiquette and morality, even though some believed it was due to coercion by the Jurchens or Mongols. However, the succession of the Duke Yansheng was indeed chaotic at one point, and the eldest son was disregarded, which was a direct slap in the face to the sage.

The emperor's lack of affinity for Confucianism was indeed a point of contention for many scholars. However, this wasn't the whole story. While the current imperial examination system did allow for talented individuals from humble backgrounds, many others came from relatively well-off families.

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!