In Zhu Yuanzhang's heart, Zhu Yunwen was just a good boy.

He is obedient and sensible, and his personality is very similar to that of Crown Prince Zhu Biao, elegant and peaceful.

But unlike Crown Prince Zhu Biao, Zhu Yunwen was not born in a time of war, so he did not show any talent in military affairs. He was also influenced by Confucian culture for a long time and did not have any violent temper.

Zhu Yuanzhang was a little skeptical when such a good child suddenly said that he wanted to go to Champa overseas to be crowned king.

"Did you say something, Grandson, that's why Yun Wen wants to go to Champa now?"

After hesitating for a moment, Zhu Yuanzhang finally asked.

The eldest grandson was a very strong person, and Zhu Yuanzhang was very clear about this. In Zhu Yuanzhang's view, Zhu Yunwen would flee the capital even if he wanted to establish a country overseas. The mystery in this must have fallen on the eldest grandson.

When he asked this, it felt a bit like an interrogation. After all, Zhu Yunwen had always grown up by his side and had been the apple of his eye. Now that such a thing as brotherly killing had occurred, he felt somewhat uncomfortable.

Feeling the old man's unhappiness, Zhu Ying also expressed his understanding, and then explained: "Grandpa, please don't misunderstand. How could my grandson do such a thing? The key lies in the Lu family."

Zhu Yuanzhang was slightly stunned. Lu?

"Could it be that Yun Wen is going to Champa because of Lu's intention?"

As soon as the words came out, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately understood the cause and effect.

The biological mother of the eldest grandson was Chang, and Lu was only a stepmother. But now Lu is the Crown Princess, and the eldest son Zhu Biao has passed away.

There is no problem now, but after a hundred years, when my eldest grandson inherits the throne, the status of the Lu family will become extremely embarrassing.

Previously, the eldest grandson had been living in Kunning Palace, and even though he had been named the Crown Prince, he had no intention of moving to the Eastern Palace.

The key here is not as simple as what the eldest grandson said about growing up here since childhood. In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang is very clear about it in his heart.

Judging from the current situation, Lu and Yunwen are like an orphan and a widow. It would be sad if they were driven out of the Eastern Palace.

Zhu Yuanzhang always felt guilty towards Yunwen.

According to the regulations, although Yunwen did not go through a formal enthronement ceremony, as an emperor, his words were equivalent to an oral order in the court, and he personally enthroned him as the crown prince.

According to royal rules, which were set by Zhu Yuanzhang himself in the Imperial Ming Ancestor Instructions, once the crown prince is enthroned, he cannot be abolished without authorization unless he is morally deficient.

But now, Zhu Yuanzhang himself took the lead and broke this rule first, and he broke it so obviously, leaving no room for turning back.

Although Zhu Yunwen never said anything from beginning to end, and even the information obtained from the Imperial Household Department did not reveal any words of resentment from Zhu Yunwen, Zhu Yuanzhang knew that he must have felt aggrieved and unwilling in his heart.

"The eldest grandson promised Yunwen to go to Champa." Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but sigh, and then asked.

Zhu Ying nodded: "My grandson has already agreed."

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed and said, "Yunwen has a weak character and it is difficult for him to compete with others. Although I have never been to Champa, it is located in the west and is more than just poor compared to the capital."

"In the Western region, the regional forces are complicated, wars and riots are endless, it is a barbaric land, there is no culture and etiquette of the Divine Land."

"Yun Wen has been studying Confucianism and literature until now. If he goes there, there won't be anyone to communicate with. Perhaps he won't be used to it."

Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to be sighing, but in fact he was telling his eldest grandson that he didn't want Zhu Yunwen to suffer in the past.

What he cares about most is naturally his eldest grandson, but with his grandson's current excellence, there is actually nothing to worry about. To put it bluntly, even if he died now, he would be able to rest in peace.

Sometimes when he was in the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang even thought about just leaving and going to find his eldest sister to tell her that his eldest grandson had returned.

But every time he thought of this, he could always imagine a scene, which was the elder sister scolding him.

The eldest sister will definitely scold me, asking why I can't spend more time with my grandchildren. After a hundred years, they will all be in the underworld, so I can't stay as long as I want.

Besides, the great-grandson hasn’t been born yet.

I also have to take care of my little great-grandson.

If it was a boy, he would be the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

However, the royal family is a big family. After the eldest grandson is settled, Zhu Yuanzhang naturally loves the other princes and grandchildren as well.

If the eldest sister were here, the third and fourth brothers would definitely not have gotten into such a mess.

Zhu Yuanzhang knew about the little things between Prince of Jin Zhu Gang and Prince of Yan Zhu Di, but he was not good at advising them, especially his own children.

When Empress Ma was alive, she had many adopted sons, but she was able to keep them harmonious and united as brothers.

Later, as more of Empress Ma's biological children emerged, they were all under the control of Empress Ma. All of them were obedient to the eldest son, Zhu Biao. There were some minor frictions, but with Empress Ma mediating, everything was harmonious.

Since the death of Empress Ma, Zhu Yuanzhang devoted himself to government affairs and naturally neglected the family affection between the princes.

The palace now no longer has the same vitality as it did in the past.

After listening to the old man's story, Zhu Ying knew that the old man also loved Zhu Yunwen, so he explained: "In fact, grandpa doesn't have to worry too much. Champa is near the sea, which is the maritime trade route of our Ming Dynasty."

"My grandson is going to start the Maritime Silk Road, and Champa is the first stop. It may be a little deserted at the moment, but it will naturally become lively soon."

"Besides, the sea is fast. If we sail with favorable winds, it won't be far to the capital."

"My grandson has already told Yunwen that when the time comes, not only will Yunwen lead the troops, but I will also send enough people to help build Champa."

"Of course it's not as good as the capital, but even if you look at the Jiangnan area, it's still prosperous enough."

Hearing what his eldest grandson said, Zhu Yuanzhang knew that he had misunderstood, so he smiled and said, "That's great. To be honest with you, eldest grandson, what I really want in my heart is for you brothers to live in harmony."

"This Ming Dynasty is the Ming Dynasty of the Zhu family. This world is not something that can be completely controlled by the emperor alone."

"As the saying goes, brothers fight together to fight tigers, and fathers and sons fight together in battle. I believe that as long as you can work together, the Ming Dynasty will become more powerful in the future."

Zhu Ying nodded in agreement.

Just as the grandfather and grandson were chatting, the Jinyiwei came to the Huagai Palace to report.

"Your Majesty, the bodies of Wang Yue, commander of Yangzhou Guard, Sun Shixian, commander of Gaoyou Guard, Hou Meng, commander of Taicang Guard, and Xu Cheng, commander of Xin'anwei Guard, were found at the dock outside Zhengyang Gate this morning. They were brutally murdered."

Zhu Yuanzhang was shocked when he heard this, and then he became furious and shouted, "Who dares to be so bold as to kill our garrison commander?"

The Jinyiwei who made the report was a little panicked and said, "Your Majesty, the murderer has not been found yet. The Jinyiwei are investigating as soon as possible."

Zhu Yuanzhang said coldly: "If I remember correctly, these four people were not guards of the capital. They were scattered all over the place. How come they all died in the capital?"

"Could it be that he was killed by someone in the guard post and brought to the capital to provoke us?"

The Jinyiwei below didn't dare to speak.

"Jiang Li, you speak." Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Jiang Li and said.

Jiang Li quickly knelt on one knee and said, "These four people left their posts without permission because of the transfer of the garrison commander. They came to the capital specifically to try to find a way to cancel the garrison commander's shift change."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked somewhat gloomy.

It is quite common for military officers to be bold, and even if they are caught, they will generally not be punished excessively.

But the situation is completely different when four commanders are surrounded and killed.

The body was even dumped outside the capital, which is an extremely heinous act.

After just a brief thought, Zhu Yuanzhang realized that this was to put the blame for the deaths of the four commanders directly on the imperial court.

The person behind this wanted to create discord between the guards and the imperial court.

Thinking of this, the anger on Zhu Yuanzhang's face disappeared, and he looked at his eldest grandson with understanding.

When Zhu Ying saw the old man looking at him with a serious look in his eyes, he realized that the old man had the same idea as he did and nodded slightly.

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand, asked the Jinyiwei who had made the report to leave, and then snorted coldly, "It seems that this matter is aimed at us, grandfather and grandson."

"Now that the grassland war is imminent, the eldest grandson just proposed to use this opportunity to reorganize the garrisons. Then someone took the opportunity to assassinate the four commanders and put the blame on the court, in order to alienate the relationship between the garrisons and the court."

Zhu Ying nodded and replied, "They are plotting against Grandpa, and want Grandpa not to let his grandson go to Liaodong. If the soldiers in the garrison are not determined, Grandpa will not let his grandson go to the Northern Expedition because of his love for him."

"In this case, the leader of the Northern Expedition must be replaced."

Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a while and said in a deep voice: "Lan Yu!"

"Only Lan Yu has this motive. In order to ensure victory in this Northern Expedition, we will definitely send Lan Yu to fight."

"If Da Sun can't go, Lan Yu can go. With this great victory, Lan Yu's reputation will once again resound throughout the Ming Dynasty."

At this point, Zhu Yuanzhang's face began to darken, and murderous intent suddenly appeared in his eyes.

Seeing this, Zhu Ying smiled bitterly and said, "My grandson doesn't think so. Lan Yu is most likely not the person behind the scenes. I even think that the person behind the scenes wants to frame Lan Yu and get rid of Lan Yu through grandpa's hand."

"Lan Yu currently doesn't care much about his achievements. After what happened before, even if he is stupid, he would not do such a thing."

"Lan Yu now wants to go to the grasslands to fight and establish his career, but he wants to show off in front of his grandson, not for the credit."

"At the beginning of the spring, Lan Yu came back after suppressing the rebellion in Shaanxi. Grandpa only gave him a small reward as a token of his appreciation. If it were the Lan Yu of the past, he would definitely have some complaints."

"This time, my grandson specially ordered the Jinyiwei to monitor him and found that Lan Yu didn't care about the rewards for his merits. With the shares of the brewery that my grandson gave him earlier, he now has enough treasure notes to distribute as dividends every month. His mind is no longer on corruption and bribery."

The analysis of the grandfather and grandson was very insightful. At present, they only knew that four commanders had died. With such a lack of clues, they had already deduced this situation.

Jiang Li and Liu He in the hall were terrified when they heard this.

Such calculations have never been seen by ordinary people. Even before Your Majesty, no one has ever made such plans with others, and no one is qualified to discuss with Your Majesty.

It is said in later generations that among all the founding emperors of ancient and modern times, Li Shimin was the strongest in terms of military talent, followed by Zhu Yuanzhang. This shows that Zhu Yuanzhang's decisiveness and planning were extremely top-notch.

It is understandable that suspicion is placed on Lan Yu. After all, from the perspective of vested interests, Lan Yu is currently the most suspicious.

Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a while and said, "It seems that behind this scene, we might know each other. We must be acquaintances to take our thoughts into account."

"This person must be a general or a sergeant, and he is in a high position with real power. At the very least, he must be a top commander in the garrison command room."

“But in this case, the scope is much larger.”

Zhu Ying thought for a moment and said, "The four commanders have all followed Grandpa to fight in battles all over the world. They are highly skilled in martial arts. Even if there are ten or twenty people, they may not be a match for the four of them. At least there will be some movement."

"It can be seen that the person who did this did not kill by force, but most likely poisoned him."

"If they planned to poison someone, there must be some clues to follow. It must be four people, or someone familiar among them, who would have let the four people down without any vigilance."

"Now we can only wait for the case to be investigated first, and then we can narrow the search area."

Zhu Ying paused and continued, "To do something like this suddenly at this time, I think this person must have resentment in his heart and was bewitched by others."

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes flickered and he said, "What Grandson meant is that it is related to the remnants of the Hu Party."

Zhu Ying nodded and said, "This person must have received favors from Hu Weiyong. I have seen the name of Wang Yue on the list that Grandpa gave me. He was a former general of Lan Yu."

"I think he is probably from Huaixi."

This incident was rather sudden and beyond Zhu Ying's expectations. Perhaps it was just the flapping of a butterfly's wings.

The Lan Yu case that was supposed to happen this year disappeared due to Zhu Ying's operation. If it were in the original history, this person would probably have been implicated, and naturally what happened now would not have happened.

But he survived, so he was qualified to make plans.

In the Hu Weiyong case, Zhu Yuanzhang executed the nine clans of Prime Minister Hu Weiyong for the crime of "plotting against the law". He also killed several people including the Imperial Censor Chen Ning and the Minister of Justice Tu Jie. In the following years, the case involved many people.

Hu Weiyong once served as prime minister, and his power was so autocratic that even Zhu Yuanzhang was extremely wary of him, and he promoted Hu's party without any scruples.

In the eyes of those who were promoted, they were naturally grateful to Hu Weiyong, and it was normal that some of them still remained. After all, the entire Huaixi noble group had not been eradicated.

They are all fellow villagers and their relationship is so complicated that even Zhu Yuanzhang finds it difficult to sort it out.

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes were sharp, and he said, "They are probably the remnants of the Hu Party. Let's see which one of them I spared but dared to do such evil."