With Zhu Yunwen leaving the north, Fu Youde also began to prepare for any possible battles in the north.
At the same time, he also discussed with Zhu Yunwen that they should be ready to replace some of the generals under his command who they did not trust at any time.
This was to prevent the possibility that some generals might have already been bribed by Zhu Yunwen.
After Zhu Bingtong left the north, he kept a close eye on the situation there, while Fu Youde in the north was always ready to send messages to Zhu Yunwen.
Zhu Yunwen knew that he had only just left the north, and if the Goryeo Kingdom wanted to make a move, they wouldn't be in a hurry. They would most likely wait until he had gone further before taking action.
Zhu Yunwen guessed that they would only make their move once they reached the southwest region and were far from the north.
Therefore, Zhu Yunwen continued his journey to various places to inspect the world.
After leaving the north, Zhu Yunwen went to the south, spending seven or eight days passing through many places and learning about local people's lives and the situation in various places.
Overall, Zhu Yunwen was quite satisfied, as the lives of the people in the Ming Dynasty were indeed getting better and better. Local officials dared not cause trouble at will and were all diligently managing their areas.
After all, the roads are so well-maintained now, and transportation is very convenient, so there's no problem with communication.
Those local officials no longer think of themselves as being far from the emperor, as if they were just monkeys in a hundred miles away.
They also understood that the imperial court could easily find out about any misconduct in the local areas, and that it was much easier for the local people to file complaints than before.
In the past, travel was inconvenient, and people in some remote areas might never have left their villages in their entire lives.
But things are different now. The Ming Dynasty has built such good roads and encourages people to travel more. As long as they have a road permit, they can go wherever they want.
In addition, there are bicycles and tricycles, making it possible to travel two or three hundred, or even four or five hundred kilometers a day.
Therefore, if local officials do a poor job, it is extremely easy for some people to leave their place and file complaints elsewhere.
This also greatly supervised local officials.
Therefore, local officials had no choice but to restrain their bad intentions and dare not act as openly and recklessly as before.
As long as the governance of a place improves, the living standards of the people in that place will improve, and there will be fewer injustices.
Thus, Zhu Yunwen continued south and arrived at Kaifeng Prefecture.
As the ancient capital of several previous dynasties, Kaifeng Prefecture still holds a very high status and level of prosperity.
The key point is that one of Zhu Yunwen's uncles, Zhu Su, was also a king in this place.
Speaking of Prince Zhu Su of Zhou, Zhu Yunwen actually admired him quite a bit, mainly because he was a very good person.
He was one of the few sons of Zhu Yuanzhang who was kind-hearted, low-key, and of high character.
Moreover, he was the only one among Zhu Yuanzhang's sons who did not covet power and position, had no ambition, was not likely to fight for power and profit, and even stayed away from power.
Before this, Zhu Su had been punished by Zhu Yuanzhang for some things.
That was when he secretly met with his father-in-law, General Feng Sheng.
This incident caused quite a stir at the time, and Zhu Su was even demoted to a commoner by Zhu Yuanzhang and exiled to Yunnan to suffer for a year.
Later, Zhu Yuanzhang realized that his son might have indeed been confused for a moment.
That's why he left his fiefdom without permission to meet with the general in the imperial court.
After all, in ancient feudal society, a local lord who had been granted power in his own territory was absolutely not allowed to leave his former fiefdom at will.
Leaving would be a serious mistake, especially since Zhu Su not only left his fiefdom but also met privately with court officials.
Although Feng Sheng is his father-in-law, doesn't that make people think even more? This is a very serious matter.
You should know that this is absolutely forbidden.
This is what truly angered Zhu Yuanzhang, who exiled him to Yunnan. Later, Zhu Yuanzhang brought him back to Nanjing and kept him under his wing for a year to teach him a lesson.
Only then was he sent back to Kaifeng Prefecture.
It was after returning from this trip that Prince Zhu Su of Zhou realized that being born into an imperial family made it all too easy to make mistakes.
He himself was not greedy for power, so in order to avoid suspicion, he stayed away from many official matters and devoted himself to the study of plants, food, flowers, and medicine.
He became a carefree and leisurely prince.
Zhu Yunwen was still very curious about this uncle and felt that he should at least go and visit him.
So when he passed through Kaifeng Prefecture, Zhu Yunwen went directly to the prefecture. Upon learning the news, the prefect of Kaifeng Prefecture immediately informed Prince Zhou, Zhu Su.
On that day, Prince Zhu Su, along with the prefect and a group of officials from the prefectural government, greeted Zhu Yunwen outside the city of Kaifeng.
When Zhu Yunwen saw his uncle, he immediately got off the carriage.
The reason he still travels by horse-drawn carriage instead of bicycle or tricycle is quite simple: horse-drawn carriages can be made relatively luxurious.
Moreover, using horses to pull it saves effort; if it were made into a large tricycle that people would have to pedal, it would be quite strenuous.
After all, a carriage can be transformed into a luxurious little house, while a tricycle, though convenient, may not necessarily achieve the same effect.
Therefore, when Zhu Yunwen toured the country as the crown prince, he still had to ride in a carriage.
Of course, many of the attendants in the group rode tricycles carrying some things, while some guards rode bicycles. This made things convenient for everyone. Some people also rode horses, since there were more transportation options available now, so they chose whatever was most convenient.
After Zhu Yunwen alighted from the carriage, he quickly stepped forward, and Prince Zhou, Zhu Su, also hurried forward, bowed to Zhu Yunwen, and said:
"Your subject, Prince Zhu Su of Kaifeng, along with the Prefect of Kaifeng and all officials, pays respects to His Highness the Crown Prince."
Zhu Yunwen hurriedly returned the greeting to Prince Zhou, Zhu Su, saying:
"Nephew greets Fifth Uncle. Fifth Uncle, there's no need for such formalities."
Zhu Su then looked up at Zhu Yunwen, a slight smile on his face, and said:
"I heard that His Highness the Crown Prince is touring the country, but I didn't expect him to arrive in Kaifeng so soon. Would His Highness please stay in Kaifeng for a few more days?"
Our Kaifeng Prefecture can withstand Your Highness's inspection. Of course, if there are any shortcomings, please point them out at any time, and I will certainly have my subordinate officials correct them immediately.”
Zhu Yunwen said with a smile:
"Fifth Uncle, there's no need to be so polite. If there's anything I can't say, I will point it out."
Zhu Su smiled and said, "Alright, then His Highness the Crown Prince invites you in..."
And so, amidst the welcoming of numerous officials and the enthusiastic welcome of the people of Kaifeng, the ceremony took place.
Zhu Yunwen's entourage entered Kaifeng Prefecture in a grand procession and then arrived at the Prince Zhou's residence!
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