As the weather grew colder, Zhu Yunwen spent almost every day going in and out of the East Palace and the Wenhua Hall since his return. In the East Palace, he mostly dealt with minor matters.
Upon arriving at the Wenhua Hall, the task was to help Zhu Yuanzhang review the memorials sent by the cabinet.
The memorials that were sent to us had basically already been written with comments by the cabinet and had undergone some simple processing.
When it came to Zhu Yunwen, he, along with Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong, and Yang Pu, conducted a preliminary investigation.
Problematic rejections were sent to the cabinet for reprocessing, while those without issues were sent to Zhu Yuanzhang for final decision.
It sounds simple, but it's actually very complicated. Sometimes, it would be rejected more than ten times by Zhu Yunwen and sent to the cabinet.
Some of the proposals that passed through Zhu Yunwen's court were repeatedly rejected by Zhu Yuanzhang.
Then Zhu Yunwen would discuss it again and come up with a new plan. If that didn't work, he would reject the cabinet's proposal.
In short, the process was very complicated, but after going through such a complicated process, the final result of the processed memorials was also very good.
There shouldn't be any major errors.
Many things can be resolved perfectly.
Overall, everyone cooperated quite well.
In particular, Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong, and Yang Pu, although initially somewhat unfamiliar, were all extremely talented and possessed remarkable foresight in handling state affairs.
Therefore, when dealing with memorials to the throne, they often had very heated discussions, and were impressed by each other's abilities, and quickly became good friends.
This formed a powerful combination within the Wenhua Hall.
Sometimes they rejected some of the cabinet's memorials, which even shocked several Grand Secretaries of the cabinet.
In this way, the daily processing of memorials became increasingly standardized.
This also increased efficiency, which made Zhu Yuanzhang very happy.
Just as Zhu Yunwen had predicted, the arrival of these three Yangs helped him avoid many detours in handling state affairs.
With the Three Yangs involved in handling state affairs, Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Yuanzhang found their lives somewhat easier.
Because after reviewing the memorials to the emperor handled by the three Yangs, they generally had no objections; they only needed to glance at them, saving them a lot of trouble.
This gave me some free time.
So, the grandfather and grandson often drank tea, warmed themselves by the fire, and chatted in the imperial kitchen.
Every now and then, the eunuchs and palace maids outside could hear the sounds of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Yunwen laughing heartily coming from the imperial study.
Such a scene has almost never occurred since the death of Crown Prince Zhu Biao.
As is well known, Zhu Yuanzhang only had one son; the rest were all princes.
This might sound a little strange, but it is true.
Only Zhu Biao was treated as Zhu Yuanzhang's son, because he was born before Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, or even before he had any power.
They were the ones who accompanied him from an ordinary person to the throne.
Other children born to the emperor are more appropriately described as sons of the emperor, that is, princes.
This also shows how deep the relationship was between Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao. Therefore, in many situations, Zhu Biao and Zhu Yuanzhang were able to communicate and get along like an ordinary father and son.
Neither of them will be bound by any other shackles.
Unlike some other princes, Zhu Yuanzhang prioritized the relationship between ruler and subject before considering the relationship between father and son.
Zhu Biao and Zhu Yuanzhang were always only father and son, never clearly ruler and subject.
But now, Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Yuanzhang seem to have recreated that scene from the past. Zhu Yuanzhang has clearly regarded Zhu Yunwen as his own grandson, rather than his imperial grandson.
In the Imperial Study, the grandfather and grandson were often not bound by many rules. For example, when they played chess, Zhu Yunwen would cheat, and Zhu Yuanzhang would argue with him.
The two of them would often argue and bicker because of each other's unreasonable demands.
Such a scene was unimaginable even for the former Zhu Yunwen.
The increasingly close relationship between the grandfather and grandson indicated that Zhu Yunwen's position was becoming more and more secure.
What others may not know is that Zhu Yunwen is now the most secure heir apparent of the Ming Dynasty.
It's even more secure than his father's position as crown prince.
In the imperial study, Zhu Yunwen taught Zhu Yuanzhang how to play Gomoku (Five in a Row). At first, Zhu Yuanzhang mocked him, saying:
"This kind of game is not challenging at all, and is far less sophisticated and profound than chess and Go."
However, after playing two rounds with Zhu Yunwen, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately became addicted and said to Zhu Yunwen:
"That's interesting. We've already connected four, and you can't stop us now."
Zhu Yunwen stroked his chin and finally conceded defeat, saying:
"Grandpa, you're really amazing. You've only just learned how to change your form and you're already beating me. Shall we play Go instead?"
Zhu Yuanzhang laughed heartily. He was very happy during this period, but as he laughed, a tear welled up in his eyes.
He thought of Zhu Biao. Looking at Zhu Yunwen in front of him and the harmonious scene, it was hard not to think of his most beloved son.
Seemingly aware of Zhu Yuanzhang's sudden sadness, Zhu Yunwen immediately invited Zhu Yuanzhang to play chess.
After a while, a eunuch came in carrying freshly brewed tea and whispered:
"Your Majesty, Your Highness the Crown Prince, it's snowing again outside, and the snow is very heavy."
Zhu Yuanzhang took a deep breath and said:
"It's getting colder and colder. By the way, Yunwen, I heard that you sent the officials of the Ministry of Works to mine coal and gave them a method to pick out the impurities from the coal."
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