"If you don't know how, then go and learn!" Zhu Yunying immediately criticized. "I'm not asking you to be a general in command of troops, but it would be good if you knew a little about military affairs. Don't have too many ideas this time either. Although I'm in charge of guarding the route, your imperial grandfather is, after all, an emperor on horseback."
Zhu Yunxi felt relieved; he had been overthinking things. Although he was being given the authority to 'lead troops,' it was merely a formality. It was unrealistic to expect him to make all the decisions. Not only would Old Zhu (Zhu Yunxi) forbid it, but Zhu Yunying himself would never agree to it.
The only one whom Zhu Yuanzhang could confidently hand over military power to was the former Zhu Biao, now Zhu Yunying. Young Zhu might also be a possibility, but that would require him to grow up a bit and prove himself.
"Your second brother wants to stay in Yingtian Prefecture and be with scholars," Zhu Yunying said to Zhu Yunxi, sipping his wine. "And you? What are your plans? Will you stay in Yingtian Prefecture or go to Beiping?"
Zhu Yunxi looked at Zhu Yunying cautiously, and then said, "Your Majesty, I wish to learn from the Prince of Jingjiang."
The Prince of Jingjiang was definitely the most unique member of the Ming Dynasty's imperial family.
The lineage of the Prince of Jingjiang began with Zhu Xinglong, the Prince of Nanchang and elder brother of Zhu Yuanzhang, who died of starvation at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. Zhu Xinglong's eldest son was Zhu Wenzheng, who served as the Grand Commander of the Grand Military Commission, the highest military office in the country. His most glorious moment was defending Hongdu, where he held off Chen Youliang's 600,000-strong army from the isolated city.
This former successor suffered a sharp decline in status after Zhu Biao's birth, and his resentment towards Zhu Biao led to his erratic behavior. He was eventually dismissed from his post and placed under house arrest in Tongcheng, where he died not long after.
Zhu Yuanzhang did not have a nephew named Sha, but he left his eldest brother a line of wealth and honor. It is a pity that Zhu Wenzheng's only son, Zhu Shouqian, did not cherish this opportunity. After Zhu Yuanzhang founded the country, he enfeoffed his sons as kings and enfeoffed Zhu Shouqian as the Prince of Jingjiang, establishing his fief in Guilin.
The Prince of Jingjiang, whose original name was Tiezhu, later changed it to Zhu Wei, and then to Zhu Shouqian, was very unhappy. He was the grandson of Zhu Xinglong, the Prince of Nanchang, and he wanted to be enfeoffed in Nanchang, not the remote Guilin.
He was initially reluctant to be granted the title, and if it weren't for Empress Ma's persuasion, his fate would likely have been dire. Once he was finally granted the title, he immediately revealed his eccentric, treacherous, and ruthless nature upon arriving in Guilin. Emperor Zhu could no longer tolerate him and summoned him back to the capital.
He even wrote a poem satirizing Zhu Yuanzhang, which led to Zhu Yuanzhang temporarily demoting him to a commoner. However, out of consideration for his elder brother and nephew, he was reinstated. But Zhu Shouqian lived up to his name, indulging in extravagance and debauchery, plundering and killing innocent people, and extorting and plundering... Zhu Yuanzhang recalled him again and placed him in Fengyang. As a result, this man continued to act arrogantly in his hometown, forcibly seizing horses and harassing the entire village.
This emperor had only been dead for five years, at the young age of thirty-two. The throne that remained was held by the 'benevolent and kind-hearted' Zhu Yuanzhang. Because his nephew Zhu Wenzheng and his grandnephew had repeatedly acted recklessly, their descendant Zhu Zanyi was kept in the capital to receive education along with the other princes.
“We will definitely reduce the power of the princes in the future, and the same goes for Zanyi,” Zhu Yunying said. “Guilin is, after all, part of our Great Ming territory, and it is not appropriate to grant it to a prince. I do remember that my brother, the Prince of Jingjiang, once sent an envoy to the Baiyi people in Yunnan and Burma, but the envoy was humiliated in every way.”
Zhu Yunxuan immediately said, "Your Majesty, I wish to follow the example of my Fourth Uncle and establish fiefdoms in overseas territories!"
Zhu Yunying laughed heartily, full of pride, "Good, as expected of a descendant of the Zhu family! I agree to this. You will first accompany Grandfather back to our ancestral home in Fengyang to pay respects to our ancestors. I will arrange for you to train and command troops in the future!"
Zhu Yunxuan was somewhat excited, and then said, "The Prince of Jingjiang also has such thoughts, wanting to conquer the Baiyi and wipe away the humiliation of my elder brother."
Zhu Shouqian and Zhu Yunying were of the same generation, although Zhu Shouqian was about ten years older. And the current Zhu Zanyi was even three years older than his uncle, Zhu Yunxuan.
"Alright, this was something we had to do sooner or later!" Zhu Yunying laughed, full of pride. "The Baiyi are far too arrogant! Regardless of whether my brother is arrogant or not, he is still a member of the Ming imperial family!"
It was extremely difficult to obtain a fiefdom within the Ming Dynasty, but Zhu Yunying was very supportive of establishing a new kingdom outside of the Ming Dynasty's territory!
Whether it was his younger brother or his cousins, they were all people he needed to support. If his imperial uncles wanted to establish kingdoms overseas, Zhu Yunying would provide them with money and troops as needed. Of course, this was just talk; he certainly didn't give them money indefinitely, only providing 'startup capital,' since there were so many members of the imperial clan that even the emperor couldn't provide for them all!
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