The emperors of the Ming Dynasty were quite contradictory, and sometimes their behavior was both laughable and pathetic.
For example, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty attached great importance to centralizing power, eliminating some founding nobles, abolishing the prime minister system, or establishing the Five Military Commissions, etc. All of this seems to be proof of the emperor's desire to have absolute power.
Therefore, such an emperor aligns with the impression held by most people that his desire for power is insatiable.
However, it seems that the emperors of the Ming Dynasty today do not know what 'prevention' means. During the reign of Emperor Hongwu, the crown prince and grandson of the emperor were allowed to interfere in politics almost endlessly. In many cases, Emperor Hongwu simply allowed his sons and grandsons to control the court.
There was no fear of being forced to abdicate. He probably just wanted to smooth out the troubles and hand over a smooth reign to his children and grandchildren. He wasn't worried at all about his children and grandchildren taking power from him.
The same applies to the current Emperor Yingshi. He sits on the dragon throne, but he doesn't care at all about the retired emperor's interference in court affairs. In fact, many matters are deliberately handled by Emperor Yingshi, who has the retired emperor intervene.
There was no concern about their imperial authority being damaged; Emperor Ying Shi and Emperor Hongwu seemed to have no defenses against each other.
"Your Majesty, the Martial Academy is mostly staffed by military officers," Li Jinglong said quietly beside Zhu Yuanzhang. "The instructors for the Martial Academy have also been largely determined. The students of the Martial Academy are mostly selected from the sons of nobles."
Old Zhu nodded slightly, generally satisfied with the arrangement. In fact, martial arts existed before the Ming Dynasty, but military academies weren't as systematic or large-scale as they are now.
Looking at Li Jinglong with satisfaction, Old Zhu was quite pleased. "You're starting to resemble your father. Don't let us down."
Li Jinglong's greatest advantage wasn't just his rich theoretical knowledge; he was a master of theoretical discussions. Even Zhu De acknowledged his substantial theoretical knowledge. In fact, Li Jinglong's greatest advantage was that he was the son of Li Wenzhong and the grandson of Zhu De's second sister—a background that placed him at the very top of the social hierarchy.
"Uncle, our eldest aunt, our youngest aunt, and our cousins are all going to join the Martial Arts Academy," Little Zhu chimed in, not wanting to be left out. "And our great-uncle's family and our eldest uncle's family are also going to join the Martial Arts Academy."
Li Jinglong immediately replied, "Your Highness, I have already made arrangements."
"Remember to send your little brats over too. You still need to keep an eye on your third son," Old Zhu said cheerfully to Li Jinglong. "Do you remember a while ago you were thinking of competing with the Crown Prince for horses? With your father's cautious nature, how did you raise such a bunch of disrespectful scoundrels!"
Li Jinglong immediately broke out in a cold sweat. His grandfather and father were practically family to Zhu, enjoying Zhu's unparalleled trust and favor. But even though Li Jinglong himself was also favored, Zhu only gave his son a little bit of face.
My own son needs to be properly disciplined when he gets back. Being able to become the Crown Prince's study companion is a privilege reserved for true confidants. But even the Crown Prince's cousins must follow proper etiquette.
Don't say that children are too young to understand. Children may not understand, but adults do. Children will continue to argue after a fight. But adults obviously can't completely ignore certain things.
Little Zhu continued jumping around, pointing at the training ground and saying, "This training ground is even bigger than ours!"
"It's all because your father is stingy. He can't even afford to build us a palace." Old Zhu laughed and said, "We're in the palace after all, so we don't have such a large training ground. This place is different. It's a martial arts academy, where you'll be training generals who will lead your troops into battle in the future."
Little Zhu was even happier, but she also retorted, "But our father said that he didn't build the palace."
"We've been so kind to you for nothing!" Old Zhu was both amused and annoyed. He picked up little Zhu and patted his bottom. "You're just like your father, always pushing things onto us. If you ask me, we shouldn't have been so good to you."
Little Zhu didn't mind. After being put down by Old Zhu, he twisted his body, rubbed his bottom, and then immediately ran towards the weapon rack.
Shuangquan didn't need to ask for permission; if he really needed to, he wouldn't be following Old Zhu around. Since the Crown Prince had gone to the weapons rack, Shuangquan naturally had to hurry and follow.
Along with them was Xiao Xiao Zhu's fourth uncle, Xu Zengshou, who needed to protect Xiao Xiao Zhu.
As Xiao Zhu's uncle, Xu Zengshou still had to persuade him, "Your Highness, the Emperor Emeritus forbids it..."
"Fourth Uncle!" Little Zhu said unhappily, his face stern, "When Dad was a child, even our great-uncle didn't stop him!"
Can the situations be the same?!
Xu Zengshou was deeply troubled. As the Crown Prince's maternal uncle, the Xu family was naturally tied to the Crown Prince's cause. In the military, the eldest brother, Xu Huizu, led the troops, providing the Crown Prince with significant influence both in the military and at court. Xu Yingxu and Xu Zengshou, Xu Da's two sons raised by him, were naturally stationed by the young Zhu's side. Once the young Zhu left the palace, one of these two would always be by his side.
Just like when Zhu Yuanzhang left the palace, his three uncles took turns protecting him, or even mobilized as a whole. These are true "family members," willing to risk their entire family's reputation to ensure the safety of the crown prince and his smooth ascension to the throne.
Although he hadn't had much contact with the current emperor before, Xu Zengshou knew that the emperor was precocious. When the emperor was five or six years old, he ran all over Yingtian Prefecture, visiting shipyards, government offices, and even the imperial prison. Even if he just went to look around and didn't say much, the emperor was still precocious and knew what was going on.
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