The capital, Prince Yan’s Palace.

Zhu Ying looked at the plaque in front of him and felt deeply moved.

This was not his first time coming here. When he first arrived in the capital, he stayed here as a guest of Prince of Yan Zhu Di.

Lived there for quite some time.

He never came again after that.

A year passed, and when I came back, everything was completely different.

Zhu Gaochi came out from the door and hurried over to bow and say, "Brother, it's windy outside, please come in and rest."

Zhu Ying came back to his senses, looked at Zhu Gaochi, and said with a smile: "I haven't seen you for a long time, and you have gained a lot of weight again."

"This won't work. You need to practice more in the future."

Zhu Gaochi said helplessly: "Brother, you know my situation. I get fat even if I drink water, let alone exercise."

Zhu Ying shook her head and said, "How can you get fat by drinking water? I don't know you. You love eating frosting the most. If you eat too much of that stuff, you won't be able to lose weight no matter what you do. Give up frosting and try not to eat anything too sweet in the future, and you will slowly lose weight."

Previously, Zhu Ying had always thought that Zhu Gaochi might be ill.

People with weak spleen will be fat no matter what.

But later, I consulted the imperial physician, and it was found that Zhu Gaochi was in good health and did not have these problems.

As far as the current imperial physicians are concerned, their level is still very high, so there shouldn't be any major problems in this regard.

It was not until later, by chance, that Zhu Gaochi bought a large amount of frosting from a store under the Qunying Chamber of Commerce. Only then did Zhu Ying know that Zhu Gaochi liked to eat frosting.

Frosting sugar is not a cheap commodity nowadays, but with Zhu Gaochi's status, he can enjoy it every day without any problem.

In today's age, who can eat frosting often? So no one has considered this factor. However, Zhu Ying knows very well that consuming too much sugar will definitely make you fat.

This is also the reason why Zhu Gaochi has not been able to lose weight until now.

There are very few examples like his, and Zhu Gaochi never told anyone about it, so probably only a few family members knew about it.

Nowadays, no one understands that eating too much sugar will make you fat.

Even the imperial physicians had rarely encountered such a problem.

The medical skills of imperial physicians were mainly practiced among the people. Not to mention ordinary people, even slightly wealthy families would not often eat expensive sugar frosting.

So this kind of problem will never occur.

Losing weight is not a big deal nowadays. Most people can’t even get enough to eat, so how can they talk about losing weight?

Zhu Gaochi obviously didn't care about what Zhu Ying said.

After all, frosting is his favorite snack, and he would feel uncomfortable if he didn't eat some.

Sweet foods are extremely addictive, as they make your taste buds burst with joy.

Seeing that he didn't seem to care, Zhu Ying knew that he didn't take it to heart, but Zhu Ying naturally had a way to solve this problem.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has come in person, so no matter how grand the welcome is, it would not be excessive. Soon after, the princess and the other two princes also came to the door.

After entering the lobby, servants served tea.

After Zhu Ying drank a sip, he looked at Xu Yihua, Zhu Gaochi and the other two and said, "This time, my nephew came here because of Brother Gaochi's matter."

"The New Year is coming soon. Grandpa wants to decide the positions of the heirs of the various families."

"Now that the Fourth Imperial Uncle has gone to the border, I will be the one to make the trip to the capital."

I heard that it was Prince Ding.

Zhu Gaochi lowered his eyebrows and eyes, as if it had nothing to do with him at all.

However, Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui were more enthusiastic.

Especially Zhu Gaoxu.

He knew that his father had once petitioned the Emperor, wanting him to inherit the throne of Crown Prince. Now that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had come, it might be him.

Zhu Gaosui knew in his heart that the Crown Prince had nothing to do with him.

However, he had a good relationship with his second brother Zhu Gaoxu, and the two of them were often in the military camp. He did not look down on his eldest brother Zhu Gaochi at all.

Xu Yihua took in the expressions of his three sons, and finally said to Zhu Ying slowly, "Please let your Highness the Crown Prince make it clear."

She naturally knew what the second son in the family was thinking, but she understood His Majesty's thoughts even better.

The position of the crown prince must belong to the eldest brother.

Your Majesty has always emphasized the primogeniture, and since he likes the eldest son, he would never say that he broke the rules specifically for the Fourth Master.

Zhu Ying took out the imperial edict of enthronement from his bosom, and then signaled Guo Zhong, the eunuch in charge of writing in the Imperial Household Department, to take it and hand it to Zhu Gaochi.

Seeing this scene, Zhu Gaoxu's eyes were immediately filled with anger, but he did not dare to show any resentment in front of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

Zhu Gaochi saw the imperial edict handed over by Guo Zhong, but he did not reach out to take it. He knelt down and said, "How can Gaochi be worthy of the position of the crown prince? Please tell the emperor that my second brother's ability far exceeds that of a useless elder brother like me."

"The position of the Crown Prince should be held by my second brother."

Hearing this, Zhu Ying's mouth curled up slightly, and he said with a smile: "This is what Grandpa meant. Do you want to disobey his order?"

Zhu Gaochi quickly said: "Gao Chi dare not."

Zhu Ying also knew Zhu Gaochi's dilemma. After taking a look around, he said, "My Ming dynasty is descended from the Central Plains. Since my grandfather restored our Han customs, the eldest son has always been the heir."

"You are the eldest son of the King of Yan. If you have no moral flaws, you should be the crown prince. This is the rule that Grandfather set when he founded the country."

"This rule is not only for our Zhu family to follow, but also for any family in the world. Otherwise, the elders and the younger ones will fight over who is the boss and the whole family will be in chaos."

"This kind of precedent cannot be set, let alone in our Zhu family. If it breaks the etiquette and law system, it will cause unrest."

"Zhu Gaochi, why don't you accept the imperial edict and express your gratitude?"

Having said that, Zhu Gaochi naturally knelt down to express his gratitude.

From this moment on, Zhu Gaochi became the Crown Prince of Yan.

The crown prince can inherit the throne of Prince of Yan, like Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui, but in the future he can only be a prince of a county.

The difference of one level is huge.

Not only in terms of status, Zhu Gaochi could legitimately inherit everything from the Prince of Yan, while Zhu Gaoxu and the other two could only be regarded as wealthy princes.

According to the rules that Zhu Ying has now re-established, the kings no longer enjoy the rights of fiefdoms, and even the land granted to them has begun to decrease sharply. They can only receive a salary.

However, the salary has increased a lot.

"Gao Xu, Gao Sui."

After the enthronement ceremony, Zhu Ying called out the names of the two.

The two looked at each other, then stood up and bowed, "Big Brother."

Zhu Ying nodded, looked at the two men and said, "I heard that the two younger brothers Gao Xu and Gao Sui are very similar to the fourth uncle in terms of military strategy, and they have very high talents."

"Even at this age, he has already started to lead troops in training independently. Is this possible?"

Zhu Gaoxu showed some surprise on his face, and then said: "My dear brother, it is true."

Zhu Ying said unhappily, "You are not modest at all."

Hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu quickly lowered his head.

Zhu Ying continued, "A few days ago, I discussed with Grandpa about the matter of the Fourth Imperial Uncle in Yancheng, Japan."

"The Fourth Uncle once came to the palace to find me and said that he had no interest in the governance of Japan and that what he wanted most was to establish meritorious service."

"I know about Fourth Uncle's military strategy, which led to this trip to the border. Now Grandfather has also given his approval. He plans to appoint Fourth Uncle to guard and manage the grassland border in the future."

"But this Japanese Yancheng must not be lost, so I thought about letting Gao Chi go there to be responsible for the management of Japanese Yancheng, and you two brothers will also go to the border to make achievements."

Hearing this, both Xu Yihua and the three Zhu Gaochi brothers could hardly believe it.

This is a great gift from heaven.

Not only did he preserve the Yancheng City in Japan and allow the Prince of Yan to lead the army at the border, but he could even send his two sons over.

And the family business in Japan will be inherited.

These are two completely different concepts.

Everyone knows that the conflict between His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Prince Yan has been finally resolved.

Xu Yihua was the first to react. He quickly stood up and saluted, saying, "I'm here to introduce the Fourth Master. Thank you, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Zhu Gaochi and his three brothers knelt down and kowtowed: "Thank you, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Zhu Ying smiled and said to Xu Yihua: "Aunt, you are being too polite. We are a family. This will also put my uncle at the border at ease."

Then he turned to Zhu Gaoxu and said, "You two have been naughty since childhood and can't concentrate on studying. But you have some of your fourth uncle's talent in leading troops."

"Don't think that you are going to the grassland just to fight. You are too young and lack experience. I will set up a military base on the grassland in the spring to train grassland cavalry and learn how to lead troops in battle."

"After you go to the grassland, you can go there first and let Fourth Uncle take good care of you so that you can learn more."

"Fighting a war is not about rushing in with swords and knives to kill. Leading troops requires thinking. Don't let two reckless men end up bringing shame to our Zhu family."

Hearing the eldest brother's reprimand, the two brothers nodded in agreement.

No matter how majestic he is as a tiger in normal times, in front of his elder brother Zhu Ying, he can only be as obedient as a kitten.

You have to know that the emperor grandfather, whom they fear the most, has to listen to the eldest brother in many things.

And his father didn't even have the slightest temper in front of his eldest brother.

It's not just his two brothers, but also the other imperial grandchildren, who is not afraid of the eldest brother?

Now, if any of the emperor's grandchildren mentioned Zhu Ying, the scene would become a little quieter. It was originally noisy, but it immediately became quiet, and even the voices became much lower.

Regarding these things, Zhu Ying rarely pays attention to the situation of his younger brothers on weekdays. After all, he is really busy.

As the crown prince, and with the old man letting me go, my daily schedule is very tight.

In most cases, Zhu Ying would usually directly contact the fathers of these emperor's grandchildren, that is, the various princes.

Among the vassal kings, Zhu Chong, the Prince of Qin, Zhu Gang, the Prince of Jin, and Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan, were the most powerful.

They can be said to be the leaders of the three brothers.

Previously, there was a big boss named Zhu Biao, but Zhu Biao had a gentle temperament and was not overbearing. Most people respected him but were not afraid of him.

I'm afraid it's still these three brothers who are causing trouble.

Even these three vassal kings were now conquered by Zhu Ying.

These things were not a secret in the palace and were discussed openly in private, which led to Zhu Ying's reputation becoming very big in the palace.

A large number of royal grandchildren and princesses were afraid when they heard Zhu Ying's name, as if he were a devil.

"This time I came here, I wanted to talk to Gao Chi about going to Japan." Zhu Ying said leisurely.

After saying this, he fell silent.

Of course Xu Yihua understood that this had to be discussed privately with the eldest son, so he stood up and took the second and third sons to leave.

After Xu Yihua left the door, the eunuchs around him also left and closed the door.

Zhu Gaochi walked over and complained, "Brother, you are harming me. Look at my body. If I go to Japan, I will lose half my life before I even get there."

"I heard that Japan often has hurricanes and earthquakes, and people die easily. I am not strong enough to endure it."

In private, Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Ying had a very good relationship.

Their previous friendship was still there, and now that they were just two of them, Zhu Gaochi naturally had no scruples and started complaining immediately.

Zhu Ying smiled and said, "You still don't want to go. Going to Japan is almost like being a king. You are the one who makes the decisions over there. Your fourth uncle went to the border, and your two brothers followed him. You don't want such freedom."

"Hurricanes and earthquakes are just bullshit. The Japanese are living well and not all of them have died. When you go there, of course you should stay in the safest place."

"A hurricane can't hit you, and an earthquake can't shake you."

"Besides, Japan is very important. It is not a place for exile. You are going there with a mission. You must make the Japanese people listen to the teachings of the Ming Dynasty and turn them into real citizens of the Ming Dynasty."

"This is extremely important to the Ming Dynasty. If you go there as the Crown Prince, you will be the regent."

Zhu Gaochi knew that he had no chance of shirking the responsibility after hearing this, so he smiled bitterly and said, "Big brother, you can't let me just jump over there by myself, at least give me some help."

"I don't want the firearms craftsman, lest he be taken by the Japanese, but you must give me enough for the other craftsmen, big brother."

"Also, Japan seems peaceful, but who knows how long it will take for a war to break out. I heard that the military academy has graduated, so you have to pick some capable people to train the soldiers for me. Don't let me be bullied."

"besides……"

Zhu Ying interrupted speechlessly: "What the hell, you've become a bad boy now, and you've become dishonest."

"You just asked for so much. That's the land of the Three Kings. If I give you too much, how can I give less to my Third and Seventh Uncles?"

"There are a few good ones at the academy. I can just follow them. Craftsmen and the like won't be a big problem, but the number of people can't be too large. You can handle the rest on your own."

"As for the Overseas Talent Recruitment Center, you should think of a way yourself. There are quite a few people there now. Whether you can convince them to follow you depends on your own ability."