Having finished his official duties, Zhu Yunying was in a good mood and headed towards the Qianqing Palace. Meanwhile, Old Zhu, who was already there, had received advance notice and was preparing dinner, waiting for Zhu Yunying to arrive.

Upon seeing Zhu Yunying, Old Zhu smiled kindly. "You're almost thirty, yet you're still like a child. You haven't even settled the affairs of state, and you're already sending people over to ask for this and that. What kind of talk is that!"

"You're only twenty-seven, not yet thirty," Zhu Yunying corrected with a smile. "Speaking of which, even if I were seventy-two, I'd still be just a grandson in front of my grandfather. If I ever reach that age, it would be perfectly acceptable for me to play around with him."

"That won't do!" Little Zhu exclaimed anxiously, jumping up and down. "If Dad is still vying for favor at seventy-two, that's outrageous! He should be like our great-grandfather, showing proper respect for elders as he gets older. If you're still not grown up by then, we'll be ashamed in front of our descendants!"

Looking at the earnest and anxious little Zhu, Zhu Yunying said, "I shouldn't have made you the crown prince so early!"

Little Zhu wasn't intimidated at all. He looked at Zhu Yunying and said, "Even if you didn't bestow titles upon us before, you should do so in two years."

"Let's not talk about that. You little brat, you're getting too cocky." Old Zhu chuckled. He was happy to have his grandson and great-grandson around. "Did you come here today to talk about your outbursts of anger in court?"

Zhu Yunying didn't hide anything and said to Old Zhu, "That's how it is. I can't say I'm too angry. I'm really unhappy, but that matter was actually a lucky accident. I've always felt that there are too many military officers now, and some of them have become corrupt. It's the right thing to do to clean up some of them."

Old Zhu nodded, but still reminded him, "If you intend to govern with civil administration, we won't say much. Even if you have to clean up some more, it's only right. You still have to go to the Northwest to wage war and you're also thinking about the South. Don't kill too many nobles at once, lest you chill their hearts."

Zhu Yunying smiled and nodded, saying, "We understand this principle. We wouldn't do something like 'killing the dog after the rabbit is caught.' As for those military officers we're dealing with now, they really went too far, so there's nothing to say. Besides, even if we were to kill someone, we wouldn't kill them all; we'd just deal with a few."

Zhu Yunying's words pleased Zhu Yunying even more, as this was the proper way to handle the situation.

While military officers certainly need to be controlled, it's clearly impossible to completely eradicate them. Zhu Yunying values ​​the military officer groups under his command; he wouldn't cripple himself, especially since he plans to wage war soon, and he absolutely cannot afford to shake the foundations of these groups.

However, pruning a few crooked branches is definitely not a problem and can ensure the vitality of the Wuren Group.

Little Zhu suddenly remembered something and said, "The Duke of Yingguo will be returning to Yingtian Prefecture soon. We can't just leave the city on our own, can we?"

"You've already received an honor just for leaving the city, but it's only right," Zhu Yunying said with a smile, addressing Little Zhu. "As for the rewards and honors, just take an imperial edict with you when you go out. If your merit is great, you'll be given a mansion in front of your residence and a 'Great Merit Arch' will be bestowed upon you."

This is no small matter; having such a memorial archway is a reward for Fu Youde. For many ministers, such honors are more important than gold and silver treasures; they represent their merits.

Old Zhu nodded slightly, then said to Zhu Yunying, "I remember years ago, we bestowed honors upon him. He was ranked twenty-eighth in the merits, awarded the title of Founding Minister of State, Grand Master of the Palace, Pillar of the State, and Associate Commander of the Grand General's Office, and enfeoffed as Marquis of Yingchuan. Now his salary has been increased, and he has also been granted the titles of Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince and Duke of Ying, with a stipend of four thousand shi (a unit of grain).

That makes sense. Although Fu Youde was not particularly outstanding at the beginning of the founding of the country, he was not among the most outstanding of the founding heroes.

However, from his initial position as Marquis of Yingchuan with a stipend of 1,500 shi, to his promotion to Duke of Ying with a stipend of 3,000 shi after the pacification of Yunnan and Guizhou, and then to his further promotion to 4,000 shi after the Northern Expedition, Fu Youde can be said to have accumulated a wealth of experience and achieved some accomplishments that his former colleagues had never had.

Little Zhu chimed in from the side, “Our maternal grandfather only received an annual salary of five thousand shi.”

Indeed, Xu Da was only a 5,000-shi official, yet he was the most meritorious official in the founding of the dynasty. Of course, Xu Da also rose through the ranks to become Grand Tutor, and was concurrently awarded the titles of Founding Minister of State, Grand Master of the Palace, Right Pillar of State, and Grand Tutor, among others, which were even more prestigious.

As for Lan Yu, his contributions were indeed significant, that much is undeniable, but he could also cause trouble.

He was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Yongchang with a salary of 2,500 shi (a unit of grain), a very high starting point. His great victory over the Northern Yuan in the Battle of Buyur Lake made him famous throughout the land. He was originally supposed to be further enfeoffed, but he caused a series of incidents, and his title of "Duke of Liang" was only "Duke of Liang" for a time.

Although he finally became the Duke of Liang after the Northern Expedition, he only received an additional 500 shi of grain in salary over the years.

After all, this person was far too arrogant. He had committed numerous transgressions, including seizing farmland, allowing his troops to destroy passes, and insulting the imperial concubine. To remind Lan Yu of these transgressions, Zhu Yuanzhang even had them engraved on Lan Yu's hereditary certificate.

Even so, Lan Yu remained unchanged, speaking arrogantly while serving the emperor at banquets, and wielding absolute power over the promotion and demotion of military officers. After returning from the western expedition, he was appointed Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, but he felt he should not be subordinate to Fu Youde and Feng Sheng and should be Grand Tutor.

Although Lan Yu made significant contributions at that time, in reality, his contributions might not necessarily be greater than those of Fu Youde and Feng Sheng.

These are all absurd things that Lan Yu did back then. It's only in recent years that things have become a little more stable, probably because he brought back a grandson, so there's someone to carry on the family line, and he's also gotten a bit older and more composed.

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