Because of Zhu Gang's affair, Zhu Yuanzhang did indeed miss three days of court, but those matters were not the whole story.

For Zhu Yunying, there was indeed something he needed to do properly; there were still many things to handle. Zhu Gang's death was certainly no small matter, but the things that needed to be done clearly still needed to be done well.

It's normal for emperors to be busy, especially for a diligent emperor like Zhu Yunying, who had endless government affairs to handle.

Moreover, this period has indeed been quite busy for Zhu Yunying, as there are many things to do and many reforms that he cares about have not yet been fully implemented, which naturally means that he needs to be even busier.

None of this mattered much. Zhu Yunying believed that doing these things well was enough, and many things were indeed not so easy to solve.

As a good emperor, Zhu Yunying knew that time was of the essence and that there was no time to lose. He understood the urgency of time, which naturally meant that he needed to do more things at this time, things that he had to do well.

When the court convened again, the topic of Zhu Gang's posthumous title naturally came up in the court.

It can be said that among Zhu Yuanzhang's deceased sons, apart from Zhu Biao, who received a good posthumous title, the rest were mostly given bad ones.

This is an evaluation of a person's life and deeds, giving either praise or criticism; it's essentially a final judgment. Not just in the Ming Dynasty, but in other dynasties as well, these posthumous titles were highly valued.

Zhu Shuang's given name is "Min," Zhu Tan's is "Huang," and Zhu Zi simply didn't have a posthumous title. Including Zhu Qi, the ninth son of the late Zhu, and Zhu Nan, the twenty-sixth son, these were all children who hadn't grown up, so naturally there was no need to study their posthumous titles.

Many court officials were still somewhat dissatisfied with Zhu Gang, feeling that this prince had repeatedly bound people with galloping horses and torn apart by chariots, and that it was no exaggeration to call him "violent" and "ruthless".

However, the best way to determine posthumous titles and temple names is sometimes to consider whether the person in power has enough authority and the strength of their methods.

For example, Zhu Di originally had the temple name 'Taizong', but during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor, it was forcibly changed to 'Chengzu'. Now, Zhu Di was racking his brains to legitimize his rule, but his descendants suddenly brought up his usurpation again. Zhu Di, even in the afterlife, would probably be furious if he knew.

Zhu Yunying sat on the dragon throne, listening to the discussions among the court officials below. He was not entirely satisfied at the moment.

Nowadays, they mostly use terms like "fierce" and "violent," which is practically disrespectful. Actually, there were rules in the Song Dynasty, such as not giving derogatory posthumous titles, only honorific or neutral ones. This was also out of respect for the dead, so they gave them a little more leeway.

However, in the Ming Dynasty, it seemed that such things were no longer a concern, as Emperor Zhu had previously given his son a 'bad posthumous title'.

Ru Chang had been observing Zhu Yunying's expression and felt that a derogatory posthumous title was inappropriate and did not align with the emperor's wishes. Therefore, a neutral posthumous title was preferable; titles like "Huai" or "Shang" were not suitable for Zhu Gang's status.

Seeing that some things were still ongoing, Zhu Yunying spoke up, "My third uncle, the third son of the retired emperor and the younger brother of the late emperor, was not only respectful and filial, but also fully cooperated with me when I was overseeing the construction of Beiping. He not only transferred garrisons and craftsmen, but also mobilized all three guards of the Prince of Jin to the Nine Garrisons to protect the border, leaving only a few hundred guards. Looking through the history books, there are not many who could do this."... Zhu Yunying's words were somewhat exaggerated, and some of the civil officials below couldn't help but grumble inwardly.

However, they all understood at this point that they absolutely could not go against the grain. Although Zhu Gang might have done many absurd things in his fiefdom, he was absolutely upright on matters of principle and had sufficient respect for Emperor Zhu Yunying.

Perhaps for emperors, some things are not so important; what they care about is choosing the right side.

Zhu Yunying continued, “When I was on a hunting expedition in the northern desert, my second and third uncles came to my aid. I know that I am not good at leading troops, but my second and third uncles have experience in leading troops. They always protected my dignity and helped me fill in the gaps. I think it is no exaggeration to say that they are respectful to their elders, honor their elder brothers, and care for their juniors.”

As soon as Zhu Yunying finished speaking, almost everyone echoed her words. Even if a few individuals seemed a little stubborn, their voices were completely drowned out by the chorus of agreement before they could even be uttered.

The current emperor holds immense power and unparalleled influence. Even if the emperor were to grant a prince a seemingly excessive posthumous title, many would likely have no power to resist him.

As for Zhu Gang, he is now given the posthumous title 'Gong', which means he was the Prince Gong of Jin!

Zhu Yunying was fairly satisfied, as it was clear he had some control over the court, and he felt a slight sense of pride. However, this was only a small degree of satisfaction, since the posthumous title bestowed upon Zhu Gang was not considered a significant matter by many.

After all, this wasn't a debate about the emperor's posthumous title or temple name, nor was it a matter of influencing court policies. So, let's just be respectful. What Zhu Yunying said made sense; although Zhu Gang had a tyrannical side, in the emperor's eyes, Zhu Gang was indeed quite law-abiding.

After the court session, Zhu Yunying summoned Ru Chang to the Wuying Hall to discuss some matters.

"Ruqing, your second daughter is of marriageable age." Zhu Yunying said with a smile to Ruchang, "We did not arrange a marriage for your eldest daughter, and we were not looking for a good family for her at that time. But for this daughter, I must arrange a marriage."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!