Give in?

Or do you want to hide even deeper?

They all grew up together and knew each other well. Zhu Di's character had never been simple.

Or it could be said that, except for Zhu Su, the previous princes did not have very good personalities. Even Zhu Su, in fact, was not gentle in some aspects; he just liked flowers and plants.

Everyone was somewhat surprised when these words came out of Zhu Di's mouth.

Zhu Ying looked at Zhu Di for a long time, wondering what he was planning.

Do you have other intentions?

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at it, hesitated for a moment, and did not continue on this topic.

In his opinion, this was a very good sign, because the fourth brother had never been like this before, or rather, he had only been like this to the eldest brother.

Thinking of his eldest brother, Zhu Yuanzhang felt a little sad.

That was his most beloved eldest son, who was by his side on New Year's Day last year.

He turned around and looked at his eldest grandson, and then he slowed down a little.

"Drink!"

Zhu Yuanzhang drank and everyone raised their glasses.

This family banquet surprised many princes, because it was just like any other ordinary meal.

All the things they had imagined before, such as breaking cups as a signal or giving up military power over a cup of wine, did not happen.

The only contradiction was between Prince of Yan Zhu Di and Prince of Jin Zhu Gang.

The relationship between the Crown Prince and Zhu Di was more subtle.

No one knows what the Prince of Yan or the Crown Prince thinks.

Even after the banquet was over, the princes were still a little dazed.

Is this the end?

When they came, some princes were even prepared to be reprimanded and have their military power stripped away.

Now I just had a meal and then went back.

"Fourth brother, please stay and leave later." Zhu Yuanzhang said.

Zhu Di was delighted and bowed in return.

Zhu Ying was not surprised because the old man had told him about this matter not long ago.

Including the fact that this matter was proposed by Concubine Ning, and it was not hidden.

The night in winter always comes faster.

Before the banquet was over, the sky had already darkened completely.

It was a dark and windy night, with the cold wind howling, giving people a creepy feeling.

In the study room of the Qianqing Palace.

There were several braziers, and it was warm.

The candlelight was also very bright.

Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Ying and Zhu Di sat together in the hall.

"Old Four, you have suffered a lot these years. There have been many wars in Peking. Thanks to you, we were able to keep the foreign races out of the Ming territory."

Zhu Yuanzhang spoke first.

The first sentence praises Zhu Di's achievements and recognizes his merits and hard work.

"These are what a son should do." Zhu Di replied hurriedly, but he had a bad feeling in his heart.

Sure enough, Zhu Yuanzhang's next sentence shocked Zhu Di.

"You are my son, and I know your abilities. Among all the princes, you are the one who looks most like me, and your personality is the same."

"But Fourth Brother, you are a vassal king. Today, we will tell you a few words from the bottom of our hearts."

"Throughout history, the relationship between the vassal kings and the imperial court has always been a hurdle. Your eldest grandson is still young and may not be able to convince the public, but he is your eldest brother's eldest son. The future of the Ming Dynasty is destined to be controlled by him."

Having said that, Zhu Yuanzhang turned to look at Zhu Ying, and at the same time stretched out his hand and just held the palm of his eldest grandson.

Zhu Di's pupils shrank. The implication of this was very obvious.

"I have always been loyal to my father, the Ming Dynasty, and the Crown Prince. I have never had any second thoughts. I can accept any arrangement."

"Whether it's setting up an overseas vassal state or guarding Liaodong, please rest assured, father, there will never be any quarrels between uncle and nephew."

Zhu Di said in a deep voice, his tone was also very firm.

These words, spoken at this time, almost put everything out in the open.

Especially the sentence "guard Liaodong", Zhu Di implicitly expressed his desire to go to Liaodong.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Ying.

An old fox and a young fox.

The hidden meaning in these words is of course clear and understandable.

The old fox looked at the little fox. After the little fox hesitated for a moment, his eyes flashed, and the old fox understood.

"The affairs of Liaodong are related to the foundation of the Ming Dynasty. It is not only the gateway to the Ming Dynasty, but also the granary of the Ming Dynasty in the future."

"If you still want to stay in Liaodong after conquering Japan, then you can only give up your fiefdom, the title of general, and the name of prince."

This was the result of the discussion between Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Ying.

It’s okay for Zhu Di to go to Liaodong.

But there can be no more fiefdoms.

In the future, the black soil of Northeast China will definitely be an important grain producing area for the Ming Dynasty, and its impact on the entire north will be very significant.

The storage and transportation of grain can only be arranged by people from the Ming Dynasty court and cannot be handed over to anyone else.

For princes like Zhu Di, who had made contributions in military campaigns and local governance, most of them were granted overseas fiefdoms.

Now this difficult problem was directly thrown back to Zhu Di.

In other words, if you want to go to Liaodong, you can only be a general and specialize in fighting, and it is impossible for you to touch the jurisdiction of food.

Hearing this, Zhu Di hesitated and his expression became gloomy.

After a long while, he gritted his teeth and replied, "Your son is willing to guard Liaodong."

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Ying looked at each other again and felt a little relieved.

This is because of Zhu Di's hesitation.

If Zhu Di had not hesitated at all, he would definitely have had evil intentions.

This shows that everything is in his plan.

"Since Fourth Uncle has already thought about it, then I understand it too. However, the war against Japan still requires Fourth Uncle to go there first and open up the situation."

"The Liaodong issue cannot be resolved in one or two years. When Japan is stable, I will ask my fourth uncle to guard Liaodong."

Zhu Ying spoke.

In fact, in Zhu Ying's mind, placing Zhu Di overseas is the best option.

But the current situation is that the old man is very conflicted. It is obvious that he is more optimistic about Zhu Di guarding Liaodong.

This comes from the trust between father and son.

Zhu Ying could also force it, and the old man would of course agree, but this would also make the old man feel guilty.

The old man mentioned Zhu Di many times, and his meaning was actually very clear.

Among the many princes, the one the old man valued most besides the crown prince was Zhu Di.

Zhu Ying could feel this very clearly.

The fear of Zhu Di mostly comes from the reputation and style of the Yongle Emperor in later generations. In the current situation, there is no possibility of a turnaround in any way.

The fact that he was able to turn the tables like this only proved that Zhu Di was favored by God and was destined to be the emperor.

Although Zhu Ying agreed to let Zhu Di go to Liaodong, he still had some plans in mind.

The Liaodong campaign was carried out simultaneously with the Japanese invasion.

After the war against Japan was completed, the division and ownership of Liaodong was basically settled. If Zhu Di was airdropped there, it would not be so easy to touch upon the military power.

Moreover, as the focus is the black soil of Northeast China, multiple secret layouts will definitely be determined in advance.

By then, there would be no problem for Zhu Di to just be a general.

If you have any objections, I'm sorry.

Then you will understand what it means to be surrounded on all sides and ambushed on all sides.

Zhu Di left with satisfaction.

After Zhu Di left, Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "Can't the eldest grandson control Liaodong with the ability of the fourth son, even if it is later?"

"By then, we will have strong soldiers and horses, and no worries about food. If we forcibly establish our own territory, the cost will be enormous."

Zhu Ying smiled and replied, "My grandson made plans a year in advance, imitating the Goryeo of the past, with open tactics at the top and covert tactics at the bottom, just like the Jinyiwei in the capital. If we can lose like this, how can we win?"

"Besides, I believe Fourth Uncle is not that kind of person. I have seen both the Princess of Yan and the Crown Prince."

"Brother Chi is gentle and kind."

"When Fourth Uncle gets old, I will invite him to the capital so that he can live out his old age in peace."

Zhu Ying was confident that he would live longer than Zhu Di.

As long as he is still around, Zhu Di will not be able to cause any big waves.

This passage means that when Zhu Di got too old to lift a sword or ride a horse, he resigned from his rank of general and went to the capital to live a stable life.

Among three sons.

Zhu Gaochi would definitely not continue to stay in Liaodong, and the meaning of this sentence from the prince was very clear.

As for Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui.

He is the second son of the legitimate wife and can only be a prince without any fiefdom.

Compared with Zhu Di, these two people are completely different from each other and are not worth worrying about.

Zhu Yuanzhang was quite satisfied with this arrangement.

It not only reduced the worries of separatist regions, but also properly arranged the relationships among family members.

This is also the situation that Zhu Yuanzhang most wants to see.

"Go to bed early. Tomorrow morning, we will go to pay respects to your father and grandmother."

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed softly.

Hearing his father and grandmother, Zhu Ying's face became heavy and he nodded heavily.

…

In Prince Yan's palace.

Xu Yihua waited eagerly and finally saw Zhu Di's return.

Some of the palace meals were distributed to Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Gaoxu, Zhu Gaosui, and the servants were also able to taste some of the food.

Then Zhu Di went into the inner room with Xu Yihua.

"I noticed that the prince looked a little hesitant. Did something happen after the banquet?" Xu Yihua asked with concern.

Zhu Di nodded slightly and said, "After the banquet, my father asked me to stay and have a secret talk with the crown prince."

"Although the matter of Liaodong has been agreed, the power of the vassal king will also be lost."

Zhu Di then recounted some of the details that took place.

When Xu Yihua heard Zhu Di's agreement, he frowned and hurriedly asked about the crown prince's subsequent answer.

After hearing the specific words, I felt relieved.

"Fortunately, the prince hesitated in his heart. If he had agreed directly, I'm afraid disaster would have happened." Xu Yihua said with lingering fear.

After hearing this, Zhu Di thought about it for a moment and suddenly felt a sense of fear.

At that time, I was in the middle of a situation and didn't think too much about it. But now when I think back on it, I realize that I dodged a disaster.

If you agree too readily.

I was afraid that once I arrived in Japan, I would never be able to come back.

Even in Japan, there was no feudal domain.

If he agreed to return to Liaodong, his right to be a fiefdom would certainly be taken back. At that time, he would be caught in a dilemma and would be tantamount to exile.

"Fortunately, my beloved concubine reminded me, otherwise, given my father's temper, it would be hard to say what would happen next."

Zhu Di sighed.

This issue is by no means over with what was said just now. There will be many more tests from my father and the Crown Prince.

If this had not been thought of, and subsequent attempts had gone wrong, the result would have been predictable.

At this time, Xu Yihua frowned.

She looked at Zhu Di seriously, and then said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, can you tell me what you are going to do in the future?"

"To be honest, although Japan is desolate and remote, and is located overseas, there will be no one to control us. With your ability, you will definitely be able to show your skills."

"On the contrary, although Liaodong has fertile black soil and no shortage of food, it is not a prosperous place. There are many wars, and the tribes on the grassland are far more brutal and cruel than the Japanese."

"Compared to this, I feel that going to Japan would be more comfortable."

This is Xu Yihua’s real thought now.

The Ming Dynasty is currently in a stable situation, but for her husband, Prince Yan, being a vassal king is very embarrassing.

Your Majesty's current idea is obviously to help the Crown Prince understand the affairs of the vassal kings while he is still alive.

Moreover, the Crown Prince is obviously not like the former Crown Prince in terms of the vassal kings, and does not want to pose a threat to the court.

During these days, Xu Yihua was not idle and went to Xu Mansion several times.

One was to visit her mother's family, and the other was to find out some news about the Crown Prince Zhu Ying.

Xu Huizu, the eldest son of Xu Da, inherited the title of Duke of Wei.

He is also Xu Yihua's younger brother.

The relationship between the siblings is still very good.

Through indirect inquiry, Xu Yihua also learned a lot about Crown Prince Zhu Ying.

Especially in the court, regarding people's livelihood and military measures.

These are things that Xu Yihua, who had lived in Peiping for a long time, did not understand.

It is precisely because of this that Xu Yihua understands how powerful the Crown Prince is. Many of his methods, although seemingly simple, are actually very profound.

During the conversation with his younger brother Xu Huizu, Xu Yihua also discovered his younger brother's admiration for the Crown Prince.

You should know that his younger brother Xu Huizu was eight feet five inches tall, handsome, elegant and talented, and worked in the Left Army Governor's Office of the Ministry of Honors and Guards.

Almost all of my father's old subordinates are under the control of my younger brother.

Those veterans all came out of the mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Although his younger brother's military ability was not as good as his father's, he had also trained troops many times in Shaanxi, Beijing, Shandong and Henan, and performed well, living up to his father's reputation.

The reason why Xu Huizu admired Zhu Ying.

The key here lies in the retirement system for soldiers formulated by Zhu Ying himself.

Because on Xu Huizu's side, there are too many veterans who once followed his father.

Many soldiers were discharged due to serious injuries. Some veterans had accumulated injuries that were difficult to recover from, and all the bonus money they received was used to buy medicinal materials.

In the demobilization system proposed by Zhu Ying, in addition to retirement and transfer, there is another particularly critical point.

That is, all medical expenses required for those who retreat due to injuries on the battlefield will be borne solely by the Ming Dynasty.

It was such a simple sentence that made Xu Huizu, who had never had any private contact with the Crown Prince, feel shocked.

That was a deep recognition for Zhu Ying.

The Xu family was not considered wealthy because they did not run a business and relied entirely on their title and salary.

The kind-hearted Xu Huizu spends a large sum of money every year to support his old soldiers who are unhappy with their lives.

It also becomes even clearer that this move by the Crown Prince is good news to the many veterans who have shed blood for the Ming Dynasty.

Because there are many other veterans whose lives are so difficult that it is truly beyond words.