The five ministers in the Huagai Palace felt a sense of surprise in their hearts when they heard the words of the crown prince.

At the same time, the look they gave the Crown Prince became much friendlier.

Before this, due to the relationship with Duke Lan Yu of Liang, the Crown Prince was close to military generals and distant from civil officials. This was the inherent impression in everyone's mind.

Even in the severe cold of winter, his considerate attitude towards civil and military ministers won him a lot of gratitude, but the label of being close to the military was difficult to change.

However, today's words completely changed the ministers' views.

You must know that just now His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said that he wanted to change the garrison system. This move would affect the entire Ming army.

Among them, Ru Rong had some small expectations in her heart.

This means that the Ministry of War will truly gain the power to restrain military generals.

Rather than the empty frame it is now.

Next, it depends on your majesty's intention.

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't speak for a long time.

This does not mean that although Da Sun did not say it explicitly, he secretly denied the relationship with the Wei Suo system.

Zhu Yuanzhang was able to conquer such a vast territory and establish the Ming Dynasty. However, he was never absolutely arbitrary in the implementation of government affairs.

At least there is definitely no problem in accepting advice.

If not, when the Hongwu Dynasty was first established and Japan killed the Ming envoy, it would have already prepared a large army and launched a powerful attack across the ocean.

"The Weisuo system has been deeply rooted in all parts of Ming Dynasty for a long time. Even if we want to change it, it is not something we can do casually."

"The matter of Li Lin, the left guard of Datong, is not qualified."

After a long time, Zhu Yuanzhang spoke slowly.

However, these words made Zhu Ying and other ministers show joy on their faces.

It's not that I'm not moving, it's that the time has not come yet.

This also means that your majesty's intention is about the Weisuo system, which is not impossible to change.

No matter how it is changed, as long as it is changed, it will inevitably reduce the power of military generals and nobles. This is inevitable.

All the ministers present were smart people, so they could naturally think of this.

At the same time, Zhan Hui's eyes flickered.

You must know that Zhan Hui now holds a high position of power, being the Minister of Personnel, and is also favored by His Majesty.

But as the current situation shows, most people are not optimistic about Zhan Hui's future.

Because before this, Duke Lan Yu of Liang had beaten Zhan Hui up severely.

On the surface, Lan Yu was dismissed from his post, lost his status as Grand Commander, and all his land was handed over.

Everyone secretly knew that Zhan Hui would definitely not be in the eyes of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

When the crown prince ascended the throne, Zhan Hui stepped down.

Especially recently, Lan Yu has resumed his position as commander-in-chief and went to Shaanxi to redress grievances. Although his army is only tens of thousands, it also symbolizes that Lan Yu has returned to the military system.

But now, there seem to be some more changes.

At this moment, Zhan Hui had already begun to think about how to connect with the Crown Prince.

Unlike other dynasties, there is no taboo on fighting for the throne in the Ming Dynasty.

At that time, Crown Prince Zhu Biao was directly close to all the important officials.

Now that it’s the Crown Prince’s turn, His Majesty is old, and this is even more so.

"You guys should leave first. Let's talk about private matters with our eldest grandson."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and said.

All the ministers bowed their heads and faced His Majesty, then slowly retreated until they were out of the hall and turned to leave.

Liu and Jiang Li also left tactfully, closed the palace door, and waited outside.

"Grandson, the Imperial Astronomical Observatory sent us a message that they have set an auspicious date for your wedding on March 18th. What do you think about this?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile.

The inheritance of offspring is a major national event and is particularly important.

He has many sons and grandsons, but his eldest grandson in the legitimate line has not yet started a family.

Facing the old man's urging to get married, Zhu Ying had no choice but to say, "I'll let Grandpa arrange everything."

"good!"

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed. He was worried that his eldest grandson would be resistant to this, but he didn't expect that a trip to Xuanwu Lake would make everything go smoothly.

The rest began to mutter to themselves.

"Here on Zhengyang Avenue, it's almost done. Since our eldest grandson wants to hold the ceremony here, it's a good opportunity for all the people of Ming Dynasty to come and give their blessings."

"After the wedding ceremony, it will be almost time for this year's imperial examination. This year's imperial examination will be presided over by our eldest grandson."

"After we get married, apart from the imperial examination, put everything else aside for now, relax, work hard a few times at night, and try to give us a great-grandson soon."

At this point, Zhu Yuanzhang smiled obscurely and said, "Let's let Yueqing move directly into your bedroom. She has no father or mother, so it will save a lot of trouble. We are royal family, so we don't have to be as particular as ordinary people."

"If you can get pregnant around the time of your wedding, that would be great."

Zhu Yuanzhang calculated to himself: "If I get pregnant now, by the end of the year, before the Spring Festival, I will be able to have a great-grandson."

"It would be great if Yueqing's belly could give birth to a big fat boy."

As he spoke of the latter part, Zhu Yuanzhang's imagination ran wild and he burst into laughter.

Isn't this what you look forward to when you get old?

Zhu Ying nodded seriously: "Grandson will never let Grandpa down."

"good!!!"

Zhu Yuanzhang stroked his beard and laughed.

…

"Sister-in-law, was my brother really this powerful when he was in the Western Regions? It's incredible. My brother at that time was probably about the same age as I am now."

In the backyard of Kunning Palace.

Zhu Yunxun asked with shining eyes.

Ye Yueqing has come to Kunning Palace many times. Zhu Yunhuan and Zhu Mingyue live here, so naturally they have met many times.

However, every time Ye Yueqing came, she came in a hurry and left in a hurry, and there was not much communication between them.

The two little ones have always been raised in the deep palace, so they are relatively shy and it is impossible for them to take the initiative to ask anything.

This time, when following Ye Yueqing home, Zhu Mingyue was curious about some of his elder brother's deeds in the Western Regions, so he bravely asked.

Ye Yueqing naturally had nothing to hide, so she began to recount some of Zhu Ying's heroic deeds in the Western Regions.

There is no doubt that some of Zhu Ying's legendary stories in the Western Regions are very exciting and attractive.

For the two children who had rarely been out of the capital, that exotic feeling was mysterious and desirable.

"When His Royal Highness was in the Western Regions, he once explored the mysterious ruins of Loulan. Unfortunately, despite spending a lot of effort, he was unable to find any traces of ancient Loulan."

"It is estimated that it has been buried under the yellow sand. It is said that there are treasures there that are rich enough to rival a country."

Ye Yueqing narrated with a smile.

Zhu Mingyue opened her eyes wide and asked, "Did Loulan disappear suddenly? Even though there are only a few people in a country, there must be at least hundreds of thousands of people. How come there is no trace left?"

At this point, Zhu Mingyue asked fearfully, "Did you offend the gods and punish me?"

Seeing that the two children were somewhat frightened, Ye Yueqing smiled and explained, "Loulan is just a small country and city-state. Its territory is about the same as a county in our Ming Dynasty."

"During the Han Dynasty, Loulan prospered because of the Silk Road, but with the opening of another Silk Road, Loulan fell into decline."

"As for the punishment from the Lord, it is even more nonsense. There are hundreds of small countries like Loulan in the Western Regions. Maybe they were destroyed by the passing Xiongnu army. We don't know."

Hearing this, the two children looked relieved.

Although the sister-in-law did not mention the Ming Dynasty, her meaning was very clear.

Those so-called small countries cannot even compare to an ordinary county in the Ming Dynasty.

A strong sense of pride and admiration for their eldest brother arose in the hearts of the two children.

So she started clamoring, wanting to hear more about her elder brother's past.

Ye Yueqing wanted to refuse, but she had no choice but to continue telling the story.

The two children's screams continued to ring out in the backyard.

"You are hiding here, whispering bad things about me?"

"ah!!!"

The two kids screamed immediately.

Just now Ye Yueqing was telling the two children about the mysteries of the ancient city of Jingjue, when suddenly the eldest brother's voice sounded from behind, and the two children were almost scared to jump into the small lake in the yard.

"Big brother."

The two children came to their senses and bowed quickly.

Seeing the two kids nervous, Zhu Ying said with a smile, "I'm just teasing you guys. Come on, go play by yourselves."

The two children naturally knew that their eldest brother and sister-in-law had something to say, so they bowed again and left.

Zhu Ying sat down and Ye Yueqing poured tea for him.

"Your Majesty, there has been some relaxation on the garrison system." Ye Yueqing placed the teacup gently in front of Zhu Ying and asked.

Before and after the secret report, Zhu Ying had been in Kunning Palace, and the private actions were naturally completed with the help of Ye Yueqing.

Zhu Ying picked up the teacup and drank it all. He was in a very good mood now, like the clear blue sky.

"This incident serves as a reminder to Grandpa that there is no perfect system in this world. Wherever there is gain, there must be loss. The guard system does not cost the court any money."

"But without the control of food and salary, the chief of the garrison is like a local emperor, doing whatever he wants, and no one can control him. The corruption is often even more serious."

Speaking of this, Zhu Ying sighed.

The corruption in the Ming Dynasty has always been strictly dealt with by Zhu Yuanzhang, with unprecedented force.

But this whip has always been used on the heads of civil officials, while military officials have been much more neglected.

The problem of drawing a salary without working has existed since ancient times, but it has become particularly serious since the Ming Dynasty.

This is inseparable from the legacy issues of the Weisuo system.

"Although the situation of the Ministry of Revenue has improved and the national treasury is considered to be full, it will be particularly difficult to bear the burden of two million soldiers."

"The guard system probably cannot be completely reformed. We can only impose relative restrictions on this basis. Your Majesty is probably considering this matter now."

Ye Yueqing said after thinking for a while.

Zhu Ying nodded, agreeing with Ye Yueqing's statement, and then analyzed: "The biggest problem now is that we don't know how many guards have this situation."

"According to my guess, even if other garrisons are not as outrageous as Datong Zuowei, they must have experienced similar situations to a greater or lesser extent. The army is cultivating farmland, and now the combat effectiveness of each garrison is rapidly declining."

"For our Ming Dynasty, this may not be a good thing."

"That's what Grandpa is worried about. If all the guards are involved at once, it will easily cause a shock. Fortunately, by conquering Japan now, we can use external pressure to ease internal conflicts."

"We can also transfer a lot of guards from Nurgan, Liaodong, to carry out some degree of reform."

After listening to this, Ye Yueqing asked, "I think you still have to join the army, like the Xuanjia Guards and other imperial guards, to maintain your strong fighting power."

"All the cavalry of the Chamber of Commerce in the desert have been mobilized to prevent attacks from the grassland."

"Now on the grassland, the Tatars and the Oirat have the intention of joining forces. They have had many exchanges in private. From the intelligence we received, they may have already colluded with each other."

Hearing this, Zhu Ying frowned slightly.

There are many tribes on the grassland, and the largest tribe in the eastern grassland of the Mongolian Plateau is the Tatar.

In contrast, there is the Oirat tribe in the western part of the Mongolian Plateau.

It is divided into Chahar, Tumed, Khorchin, Yongshebu, Ordos, Asu and other tribes.

Of course there are many other small tribes, but these are considered relatively large.

"I'm afraid the Shanxi merchants have made a lot of efforts in there," Zhu Ying asked.

There is great hostility between the grassland tribes. It is not like they can live in peace with each other, and the conflicts are very deep.

Just the division of territory can keep us going.

In the case of a joint effort, there is generally a common goal.

Ye Yueqing replied: "The Shanxi merchants have provided great assistance to Tian Jiucheng before, but what they expect is to attack the Shaanxi border together with the grassland tribes."

"Tian Jiucheng was not deceived by the Shanxi merchants. He has gone directly into the mountains. It is obvious that he is hiding and wasting time with the court."

"I think it was from the Shanxi merchants that I learned about the current situation in the Ming Dynasty."

"Without Tian Jiucheng as an insider, the grasslands are in a lot of trouble. The Shanxi merchants must have promised a lot of benefits to force them to unite."

Zhu Ying shook his head and said, "It's not that easy. Those nobles on the grassland are not that simple. They are not fools. The cavalry they have are very precious."

"Timur is putting a lot of pressure on them. If the Golden Horde can't hold on, they will be the next step. At this time, no one is willing to be the vanguard."

"No matter how much benefit we gain, as long as we go to war, there will inevitably be losses. Whether we can bring money and food back is a problem."

"The Shanxi merchants' plan is doomed to be in vain."

In history, both the Tatars and the Oirat only dared to attack the Ming Dynasty after Timur died of illness during his eastern expedition.

The pressure they are under now is even greater than that of the Ming Dynasty.

If the Ming border troops were angered and really started a fight outside the border, Timur's relentless pressure would put them in a pincer attack.

This is also the reason why the number of battlefields on the grasslands of the Ming Dynasty has been continuously decreasing.

Ye Yueqing was a little worried at first, but after hearing Zhu Ying's analysis, she felt much more relaxed.

According to this situation, the tribes on the grassland could only scare them at best, and they didn't even have the courage to knock on the gate.

"It seems that the Shanxi merchants will lose both their money and their lives this time." Ye Yueqing said with a smile.

Zhu Ying said: "We don't need to worry too much about the grasslands for now. As long as Timur is alive, the Mongolian grasslands can rely on the Ming Dynasty, at least on the surface, they will be obedient."

"Grandpa asked me to preside over the spring imperial examination. After this examination, I will start the expedition against Japan."