The Fengtian Gate opened and civil and military officials filed in.

Unlike other emperors, generally speaking, civil and military officials would wait in the hall before the emperor ascended the throne.

But in Zhu Yuanzhang's case, he sat down first before the officials came in.

It has to be said that entering the Fengtian Hall under the gaze of Zhu Yuanzhang put a lot of pressure on the ministers.

You must always be careful about where you go. If there is any confusion, you will inevitably be scolded or even beaten.

When the ministers entered, they all lowered their heads and could not look directly at the emperor. Isn't this extremely disrespectful?

After the ministers saluted and shouted "Long live the emperor", the morning court session began.

This procedure alone would take about two incense sticks of time, which is roughly half an hour in later times.

"Give our eldest grandson a seat."

This was Zhu Yuanzhang's first sentence at the morning court session.

The ministers below all turned their eyes to Zhu Ying who was standing next to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Ying, dressed in a dark red robe, had an extremely strong aura, and even when standing next to Zhu Yuanzhang, he was not suppressed.

It was obvious that Zhu Yuanzhang still loved his eldest grandson, and he was also sending a signal to his ministers that the person standing in front of him was the eldest grandson of the Ming Dynasty.

Under the gaze of the court officials, the eunuchs brought a smaller dragon throne, and Zhu Ying sat on the golden platform.

Although some ministers were already very aware of Zhu Ying's existence, they were all high-level officials, and most officials were not aware of Zhu Ying.

Even if you have heard of it, it is only a glimpse and a fragment.

The fact that Zhu Ying looked extremely similar to Crown Prince Zhu Biao shocked most of the ministers.

Who would believe that this is not their biological child?

However, most court officials were still somewhat surprised and suspicious about this eldest grandson of the Ming Dynasty who suddenly appeared.

Because most people have never even heard of Zhu Xiongying's existence.

From the 15th year of Hongwu to the 25th year of Hongwu today, in the past ten years, 70% of the ministers in the court meeting are already newcomers.

So I don't know anything about the royal secrets.

"Ten years ago, our eldest grandson, the crown prince's eldest son Zhu Xiongying, died of illness."

"But it seemed that even the heavens did not want to take away our eldest grandson's life. The night after his burial, the stars shifted and the earth dragons rolled. No one knew that the ground of our eldest grandson's tomb collapsed, the coffin collapsed, and our eldest grandson fell into the underground river."

"I hate those quack doctors. My eldest grandson was clearly faking his death, but was diagnosed as really dead. After this change, my eldest grandson woke up in the Yangtze River and was saved by a citizen."

"There is a great terror between life and death. Our eldest grandson survived, but he lost his previous memories. He fell from the Dark River into the Long River, and his clothes were torn to pieces, making it difficult to prove his identity."

"That's how it is. Without anyone knowing, our eldest grandson has been wandering in the wild for ten years, and no one knows about it!"

At this point, Zhu Yuanzhang's voice inevitably became much louder.

The court officials sensed the emperor's change in mood and kowtowed one after another.

"Get up."

Only after Zhu Yuanzhang's order did he stand up again.

Of course, these are the etiquette that the court officials have been trained in long ago. No matter whether the emperor is extremely angry, extremely happy, or extremely sad, they need to kowtow.

"We have to thank the fourth brother. It was he who brought our eldest grandson to the capital so that we could see him."

"When our eldest grandson was in Peking, he was spotted by the fourth son. He was a little unpredictable, so he was sent to the capital for us to take a look at."

"You have all seen the appearance of our eldest grandson. You can tell at a glance that he looks like the crown prince. They must be closely related."

"This is my most beloved grandson, the one I held in my arms and raised with the Queen. I would recognize him at a glance, even if it was twenty or thirty years ago, not to mention the past ten years!"

"I'm sure you all have heard about the Xiaoling incident. It was us who dug up our eldest grandson's tomb and found out what was going on. Only then could we prove our eldest grandson's origins."

"Not only that, in the hands of our eldest grandson, there is a bellyband that was once embroidered by the queen herself. The embroidery on it was personally checked by Concubine Ning and confirmed that it was undoubtedly embroidered by the queen."

Zhu Yuanzhang said slowly.

This is to explain and prove Zhu Ying's identity. Although Zhu Yuanzhang can make the final decision, he also has to consider the impact on his eldest grandson's reputation.

Based on appearance, the Xiaoling incident, and Concubine Ning's testimony, there is no doubt about Zhu Ying's identity.

And below the stage, Zhu Yunwen lowered his head with a look of resentment on his face.

He didn't expect that his eldest brother was brought to the capital by his fourth uncle Zhu Di.

"My fourth uncle has lost his mind. He brought my eldest brother from Beiping to the capital because he wants the throne. Didn't he express his dissatisfaction with the emperor's decision to make me the crown prince during the morning court session?"

"It turns out that Fourth Uncle hates me so much that he would rather let the eldest brother, whose origins were unknown at the time, take the position than to squeeze me out. Could it be that he can get a great benefit?"

"Looking at our eldest brother's behavior, he is not someone to be trifled with. I am afraid that Fourth Uncle has lost more than he gained."

Zhu Yunwen was speculating in his heart and became even more dissatisfied with Zhu Di.

If it weren't for his fourth uncle Zhu Di's move, today would have been a great day for Zhu Yunwen to be crowned the Crown Prince.

After these two months of my elder brother entering the palace, I was especially trained.

It is obvious that Zhu Yunwen no longer dared to be jealous or hate his elder brother, but he had no place to vent the resentment in his heart.

Now that they knew that all this was caused by their fourth uncle Zhu Di, all their dissatisfaction was directed at them, even though at this time, Zhu Di was still far away in the southeast coast.

It also did not affect Zhu Yunwen's hatred towards him at all.

At this moment, Zhu Di, who was thousands of miles away, was standing on the beach, watching the sun rising from the sea in the distance.

Behind him are the officials who have always served him, including Zheng He who made seven voyages to the West in later generations, and Ma He and Ma Sanbao today.

"Sanbao, do you know what day today is?"

Looking at the red sun gradually rising over the sea, Zhu Di suddenly spoke and asked Zheng He.

Zheng He was obviously a little hesitant. After a brief pause, he said, "Today is September 12th. If I remember correctly, it is the day when the Emperor's grandson, His Royal Highness Yunwen, is crowned the Crown Prince."

As a eunuch, Zheng He would definitely not forget such a major event.

Zhu Di nodded slightly and sighed, "Yes, if nothing changes, if Zhu Ying does not come to the capital, today will be the auspicious day for my nephew to be crowned as the Crown Prince."

"But I think today will not be a good day for my nephew Yunwen. It is the morning court now, and my father will definitely formally introduce the existence of my nephew to all the civil and military officials on this day."

“And my nephew Yunwen can only stand under the Golden Throne Hall and look at his elder brother, standing in the same position he once stood. I guess that doesn’t feel very good, hahahaha!”

As he spoke, Zhu Di burst into laughter.

Zhu Yunwen had no good feelings towards Zhu Di, and how could Zhu Di have any good feelings towards Zhu Yunwen?

Thinking of Zhu Yunwen's failure at this moment, this was the only thing that made Zhu Di feel happy.

As for Zhu Ying and Zhu Yunwen, deep down, Zhu Di actually preferred Zhu Ying to be the crown prince.

Legally speaking, Zhu Ying is the eldest brother's legitimate son, so as his uncle, he has nothing to complain about.

During the two months that he had been on the southeast coast to suppress the Japanese pirates, Zhu Di's thoughts were not so conflicted.

Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that Yao Guangxiao is not by his side.

After all, the matter of becoming emperor was inseparable from Yao Guangxiao's instigation over the years.

Zhu Di admired his father and wanted to achieve great things like his father, so becoming an emperor was a dream in his heart. In addition, under the subtle influence of Yao Guangxiao, he was very eager for the throne.

Of course, the premise of all this was that his eldest brother Zhu Biao passed away, which made him see opportunities and possibilities.

Zhu Ying's appearance was completely unexpected.

"Sanbao, if I had known that this would happen, what should I have done when I first met my nephew Zhu Ying?"

After thinking about it for a long time, Zhu Di asked again.

Faced with this question, Zheng He suddenly trembled all over. Since it involved royal matters, he didn't know how to start.

When Zheng He entered the palace, the eunuchs he led taught these young eunuchs that as eunuchs, they must not listen to or ask about the affairs of the royal family.

If you can't do it, your life is almost over.

Zheng He never dared to forget this wise saying even when he served under Zhu Di in Peking.

Faced with this question, after a moment of silence, Zheng He replied: "I don't know."

“Eh…”

Zhu Di sighed softly, then said to himself: "You don't know, and I don't know either. If we go back to the past, it seems that I have no choice."

There was a hint of helplessness in Zhu Di's tone.

Considering his deep affection for his elder brother, if it was really discovered that Zhu Ying was the eldest grandson of the Ming Emperor, would Zhu Di have the heart to kill Zhu Ying in secret?

Zhu Di actually thought about this question carefully, and the final answer was, it is impossible.

Even if he could do it all over again, he would still have to bring Zhu Ying to the capital and hand him over to his father.

In the final analysis, all these choices fell on the eldest brother Zhu Biao.

Although he was cruel and ruthless to the officials in Peking, he really couldn't bring himself to kill his eldest brother's eldest son.

Of course, this also has a lot to do with the fact that Zhu Di now feels that even if he takes action, the throne will not fall on him.

If he knew that Zhu Yunwen would eventually be deprived of the throne after becoming emperor, his current thoughts and outcomes would be unknown.

"Compared to my nephew Yun Wen, I have to admit that my eldest nephew is much more capable."

"Compared to my eldest nephew, Yun Wen is like a child who has not grown up. The dragon gave birth to nine sons, each one is different. They are all the eldest brother's children, but the differences are really huge."

Speaking of this, thinking about himself, Zhu Di couldn't help but find that his sons were the same.

Facing Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Gaoxu, Zhu Di sighed again.

He was very clear that the possibility of him letting Zhu Gaoxu inherit the throne of crown prince was almost gone.

Originally, the emperor liked Zhu Gaochi more, and now the eldest brother Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Ying have a particularly good relationship, so there is no need to think too much about the result.

"Go back." Zhu Di said softly.

The red sun in the distance has now jumped above the sea, shining brightly.

In Zhu Di's eyes, Zhu Ying at this moment was like the rising red sun. It would not take long before he would be at his peak.

In the court, Zhu Ying sat quietly on the dragon throne.

In fact, it is impossible for the officials in the court to directly recognize Zhu Ying's identity based on just a few words from Zhu Yuanzhang.

But at this critical juncture, no civil servant would come out and commit suicide at an inappropriate time.

Even the censors of the Censorate and the Six Ministries, who had been criticized by Zhu Yuanzhang and were still active in the court, kept their lips tightly shut and had no intention of speaking at all.

The censor system was the only constraint Zhu Yuanzhang left on the emperor. After all, he had no prime minister, and he was worried that his descendants would be too incompetent, so when the censor system was established, he gave it a very high political status.

Even if it was an impeachment himself, Zhu Yuanzhang endured it in order to maintain the transcendent status of the censors.

The censors were certainly not fools. Unless there was sufficient evidence to prove that Zhu Ying was an impostor, interfering with the succession to the throne would mean that they really thought they had lived too long.

In the beginning, Lu actually wanted to achieve his own goals through the censors.

However, after Zhu Ying quickly took control of the Imperial Guard and won the respect of the soldiers, he gave up this idea.

Lu was born at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and had a great understanding of the wars at the end of the Yuan Dynasty.

Therefore, Lu knew very well that Zhu Ying, who had the support of the army, was no match for the censors.

When it comes to Zhu Ying, His Majesty will never back down. In this matter, it is very likely that all of the two hundred or so censors in the court will be replaced.

The people laughing the happiest in the court at this moment were the Huaixi noble group headed by Lan Yu.

The official coming to power of His Royal Highness Chang Sun means that the entire Huaixi noble group will have a new backbone, just like when the crown prince was still alive.

Lan Yu himself has a deep blood relationship with Zhu Ying and is a legitimate royal relative.

Now, His Royal Highness Changsun's emphasis on military men has also won the support of Lan Yu and others.

But the civil officials are also very smart.

At this time, in fact, the vast majority of civil officials did not care much about who would be the emperor. It didn't matter who became the emperor.

The active-minded court officials have already begun to wonder what kind of personality this Royal Highness Chang Sun has and what his future political inclinations will be.

As Zhu Yuanzhang set October 1 as the day to enthrone the eldest grandson of Emperor Ming and Prince Yu as the Crown Prince, today's court meeting officially began.

Zhu Ying was also able to witness this highest-level meeting in the entire Ming Dynasty.

However, from the beginning of the meeting to the end of more than an hour, Zhu Ying felt more and more disappointed and bored.

This feeling was similar to the one he had when he first came into contact with the memorial.

Apart from the initial strong sense of ritual that was intimidating, Zhu Ying was speechless after lifting the mysterious veil.