With the Emperor Emeritus's birthday approaching, this is naturally an extremely important matter that the entire court and the public must take seriously.
Furthermore, most of the princes of the Ming Dynasty are now residing in Yingtian Prefecture. Regardless of the thoughts of those princes who were once enfeoffed in other places, they have basically accepted their fate and have no other choice.
As members of the imperial family, these princes naturally came from noble backgrounds. Especially those princes who had previously been enfeoffed, they knew the joys of being far from the emperor's reach. Given any possibility, they did not wish to have their fiefdoms reduced; they still hoped to enjoy their freedom in their fiefdoms.
It was quite obvious, however, that they were now facing Emperor Yingshi, who was determined to weaken the power of the princes. Even if some princes wanted to flaunt their status as imperial uncles in private, they all clearly understood the difference between ruler and subject when they were in front of Emperor Yingshi.
Moreover, since Emperor Yingshi wanted to reduce the power of the princes, their greatest reliance should have been Emperor Hongwu. However, Emperor Hongwu has not made any statement so far, which seems to indicate that he not only acquiesced to Emperor Yingshi's reduction of the power of the princes, but also supported it.
What else is there to say? They dared not say anything in front of Emperor Ying Shi. And in front of Emperor Hongwu, although these princes might make some minor mistakes, they would absolutely not dare to do anything on matters of principle.
Even if they complained and were dissatisfied, they could only obediently come to Yingtian Prefecture. Even if they were worried, they could only accept it.
According to the previous rules of Emperor Zhu, princes were not allowed to arrive at the same time each year for the annual audience, naturally to prevent them from colluding in private. But now it's different; the members of the Ming imperial family have all come to Yingtian Prefecture.
Zhu Yunying had gotten used to it these past few days, because when his uncles came to court, they would first greet the emperor in their everyday clothes, kowtowing three times without bowing. Then, naturally, they would meet in the Fengtian Hall, where Zhu Yunying would hold the large jade tablet in both hands, while the princes would change into their imperial robes. At this time, the etiquette between the emperor and his subjects would be observed, and the princes would perform the ritual of five bows and three kowtows.
Only after this ceremony was over could they change into their everyday clothes, at which point they would observe family rituals. However, even though they were Emperor Yingshi's uncles, these princes still had to perform four bows without kowtowing. Zhu Yunying, naturally, sat in the center facing south.
Little Zhu sat solemnly to the side, and all the young and middle-aged Grandpa Wangs had to greet him.
Little Zhu was used to this. Ever since he was made Crown Prince at the age of ten, his uncles had always been subservient to him. Since young Zhu was made Crown Prince at a young age, even his uncle Zhu Yunwen, who was close to him, had to bow to him on formal occasions. Everyone was used to this.
"Eleventh Uncle, Fifth Uncle is currently compiling a book." Zhu Yunying looked at Prince Shu, Zhu Chun, and said with a smile, "I once discussed with my grandfather that our Great Ming should compile a book, a grand encyclopedia that will demonstrate the power of the nation and benefit future generations. I think that only by working together with Fifth Uncle and Eleventh Uncle can this be accomplished."
Zhu Chun was taken aback. Although he was only three years older than Zhu Yunying and not considered a son whom Zhu Yunying particularly valued, he had met Zhu Yunying before and left a very good impression on him. 'Shu Scholar'—that was how Zhu Yunying addressed Zhu Chun.
Seeing that Zhu Chun was still puzzled, Zhu Yunying said, "It includes classics, history, philosophy, and literature, covering astronomy, geography, yin-yang and medicine, divination, Buddhist and Taoist scriptures, drama, crafts, and agriculture. It encompasses thousands of years of Chinese civilization and includes everything!"
Zhu Chun was quite excited and praised, "Your Majesty, such a magnificent feat could only be accomplished in a prosperous era!"
“That makes sense.” Zhu Yunying said with a smile, “But for such an important matter, I don’t trust anyone else. I was thinking of having Fifth Uncle and Eleventh Uncle take charge of this matter, but Fifth Uncle is still studying medicine, so Eleventh Uncle will have to take on more responsibility.”
Zhu Chun was naturally tempted, but he remained humble, saying, "What virtue or ability do I possess to preside over such an important matter!"
"Eleventh Uncle, please don't be modest. When Father Emperor was alive, he often said that Eleventh Uncle was well-versed in classical texts and had an elegant demeanor. Furthermore, Eleventh Uncle spent many years in Sichuan, educating the people of Sichuan and lecturing at the prefectural school, making many achievements. Among all the princes of our Great Ming, Eleventh Uncle is second to none." Although Zhu Yunying was exaggerating a bit, what he said was also true. "Grandfather Emperor also knows about this."
Although this might be considered an overstatement, Zhu Chun still appreciated it. He considered himself a wise and virtuous king, and indeed, he had accomplished a great deal.
Zhu Yunying spoke to Zhu Chun, saying, "If Uncle Eleven agrees, then let Uncle Five preside over the compilation of the Hongwu Encyclopedia, with Uncle Eleven supervising. In fact, Uncle Eleven should also understand that Grandfather had wanted to compile the classics and historical texts into a 'Classified Essentials' in his early years, but it didn't come to fruition. We, as his children and grandchildren, should also fulfill Grandfather's wish."
Zhu Chun nodded slightly. Old Zhu had once wanted to compile books, but it wasn't on a large scale. The country's strength at the time also didn't allow it, because there were still a lot of things to do, such as compiling the History of Yuan and revising the Book of Rites, and the Ming Dynasty didn't have many scholars at that time.
But now it seems there's no need to worry about such things. The Ming Dynasty now has enough scholars to compile a monumental work. With its current national strength and political stability, the Ming Dynasty naturally has nothing to worry about.
Zhu Chun thought for a moment, then said, “Your Majesty, compiling such a monumental work cannot rely solely on the Imperial Academy and the Hanlin Academy.”
"This nephew naturally understands the situation, so my intention is for Uncle Eleven to summon all sorts of people, not just Hanlin scholars, Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), or monks. All the books in the Wenyuan Pavilion should also be used. If this book is to be compiled, my intention is also to recruit a large number of scribes to do the work of drawing the margins, copying, drawing illustrations, and marking annotations."
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