Even though Zhu Yuanzhang has abdicated, there are times when some people inside and outside the palace consciously avoid Emperor Hongwu.
Every emperor has his own court, and even though there was nothing between the old Zhu and the young Zhu that they didn't really have to be wary of each other. But for many people, it's better to be a little cautious, because they can't afford to make any mistakes.
During the reign of the Hongwu Emperor, both the elder and younger Zhu Yuanzhang (Zhu Xi) were involved in governance. Formal or informal regency was common practice. However, even so, many people clearly understood that the Hongwu Emperor was the supreme emperor.
Now, Emperor Ying Shi has been on the throne for three years, and everyone has become accustomed to gradually aligning themselves with him.
The Hongwu Emperor's position is beyond doubt, but we shouldn't mistake him for a weak-willed ruler. Throughout history, emperors have never been comfortable with having their power usurped.
Zhu Yunying doesn't care about these things? Perhaps this is a case of being hypocritical after getting the benefit.
However, the most important thing is that both Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Yuanzhang understood that they were emperors, and many people, though trying to guess their intentions, ultimately underestimated the kinship between them, and even more so, the magnanimity of these two earthly emperors.
In the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Zhu was in a good mood. "We're all this age, why should I help you read memorials? In the early years, we were worried that you hadn't been in power for long enough to suffer losses. Now that you've been emperor for three years, you should be familiar with these things. Just handle your own affairs."
Zhu Yunying didn't care and plopped down on the stone bench. "I was reading memorials before I was even named Crown Prince, and I was helping my father review them when I was just over ten years old. Back then, why didn't I ever hear my grandfather say that the emperor should handle his own affairs?"
Old Zhu glared at him and said irritably, "Is it a bad thing that we let the two of you govern? Look at the crown princes of the previous dynasty, which one of them wasn't single-mindedly trying to have even a little bit of power in the court?"
Zhu Yunying said with a smile, "That's a matter of the previous dynasty, and it's different from our Great Ming. No matter how much experience I have in governing, I'm still Zhu Hongwu's grandson. No matter how intelligent I am, I still have to listen to my grandfather's wishes on many things. I can't know everything, and I can't do many things well."
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Old Zhu smiled and said that there was no need to pay much attention to some examples from the previous dynasty, as they had little to do with the Ming Dynasty, and some things from the previous dynasty would not happen in the Ming Dynasty.
“After reading the memorial, you need to pay more attention to your matter of merging the poll tax into the land tax,” Old Zhu said, giving instructions. “I don’t mean anything by it, but as the saying goes, it’s easier to deal with the King of Hell than with his underlings. Many officials still care about their reputation, but lower-ranking officials aren’t afraid of that. These people are like wolves and tigers.”
Zhu Yunying nodded and said, "So we're keeping a close eye on things now. We're not just punishing those minor officials; their superiors will also be implicated. We have no intention of being careless if there's a lack of strict governance."
Old Zhu was slightly taken aback, then smiled and joked, "Everyone outside says that Emperor Ying Shi is just a little Zhu Hongwu, and I think it's true. He's harsh on these people, and I think that's true too."
This is indeed a fact. Zhu Yuanzhang's ruthlessness towards his civil and military officials was not only well-known, but also among the most severe in history. And now, looking at his grandson, whom he personally trained, he seems to be following suit.
“We will hold those responsible accountable. In fact, we know that many officials are only concerned with their own reputation. In some cases, they deliberately condone and allow those petty officials to do illegal things.” Zhu Yunying laughed. He knew this. “Grandfather, your grandson is not so easily fooled. I know what I’m doing.”
Old Zhu smiled and nodded, but still reminded him, "You should do the same, but don't be too harsh. It's not like the old days anymore, and we shouldn't be so strict. It's one thing for us to be bloodthirsty, but our Ming Dynasty can't have several emperors who are bloodthirsty in succession."
Zhu Yunying remained noncommittal, an attitude that left Old Zhu somewhat helpless. His reminders seemed to have been ignored by young Zhu. Old Zhu didn't care about his reputation, but he still hoped his grandson would have a good one.
However, these reminders are clearly not very effective now, as Zhu is determined to be a harsh emperor.
"We know there will be a lot of resistance to the 'equalization of land tax and poll tax' policy," Zhu Yunying sighed. "Many people have realized that once the policy is implemented, it will not only be more difficult to consolidate land, but the taxes on those people will also increase. It's not as worthwhile as it is now. We also know that many people are looking forward to seeing us fail."
Old Zhu continued with a gentle smile and calmly said, "Look, this isn't about watching a joke."
"The people from the Eastern Depot have all been assigned their duties and should get to work," Zhu Yunying said with a smile that was still as gentle as a spring breeze. "Although we recently rectified officialdom again, the effort was not enough. I think it would be a good thing to give those people a warning if something happens, and we must keep suppressing this evil trend."
Old Zhu shared the same thought, but he felt that doing so was perfectly normal. However, if it were his grandson, Old Zhu was still worried that his grandson would also leave a bad reputation in the history books.
In fact, Old Zhu understood that his precious grandson's reputation wasn't good to begin with, and it would only get worse if things continued this way.
Since his grandson had his own ideas, Old Zhu was naturally relieved and didn't need to worry so much. He was destined to worry, even if he were no longer emperor, and even if many memorials wouldn't reach his desk. But to say that Old Zhu didn't care about politics at all would certainly be a lie.
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