It would be a lie to say he harbored no resentment. Being a wealthy prince in the capital seemed like staying in a prosperous place. But in reality, many people felt that such a life was rather meaningless.
Although some princes of the Ming Dynasty seemed to be enfeoffed in relatively remote places, even so, their treatment was not bad. They were not short of food and drink, and their luxurious life was not affected.
Those like Zhu Chun, who were enfeoffed in the land of abundance, enjoyed wealth and comfort, living a carefree life far from the emperor's reach.
Seeing that Zhu Quan seemed about to explain, Zhu Yunying quickly said, "Uncle Ning, don't overthink it. We all know those reasons. Put yourself in his shoes, if we were princes, we would also complain. Even Yunying has probably complained a lot."
Zhu Yunwen disagreed, saying, "Brother, we don't blame you. We just don't want to leave Yingtian Prefecture. Years ago, you built a palace for us in Beiping, and we were so anxious about it. We're all grown up now, and we can't keep following you around forever."
This is a hopeless case of ingrates. Zhu Yunying has worked so hard and taken such good care of him all these years. But Zhu Yunzhuo, on the other hand, still finds Zhu Yunying nagging from time to time and thinks about staying far away, where he feels more at ease.
If Zhu Yunwen had such thoughts, it's not surprising that other members of the imperial clan must have the same ideas.
Seemingly realizing he had said the wrong thing, Zhu Yunwen belatedly laughed, feeling slightly embarrassed.
Zhu Chun and Zhu Quan pretended not to hear anything. Zhu Yunwen had spoken their minds; in fact, they thought even more than Zhu Yunwen did. After all, while Zhu Yunying seemed to treat the imperial clan well, he certainly couldn't treat the other members of the imperial clan the same way he treated Zhu Yunwen—everyone knew this.
However, everyone knows what kind of person Zhu Yunwen is, so don't expect him to be reliable.
Zhu Yunwen could be unreliable because he didn't need to deliberately cultivate a persona; everyone knew he was the most unambitious and dissolute member of the Ming imperial family. Indeed, people had almost no expectations of him.
No one thought Zhu Yunwen was defaming himself or anything like that; it was simply that this kid had always been this way since he was a child. Zhu Quan and others who were about the same age as Zhu Yunwen knew this very well.
Zhu Yunying didn't dwell on it any longer, and simply said, "I can understand that my uncles have some grievances against me. But for the sake of our Ming Dynasty, I have no choice but to play the villain. Everyone says that the princes of our Ming Dynasty are different from those of the Western Han Dynasty, and there are indeed some differences, but ultimately it's not a good thing."
Zhu Chun and Zhu Quan couldn't say much on these topics because they were princes. If princes were to be enfeoffed, they would become princes of their own vassal states, making the issue even more sensitive.
Zhu Yunying smiled and said, "Within the territory of the Ming Dynasty, we cannot act recklessly, so we can only ask our uncles to make do. But outside the Ming Dynasty, our uncles can choose to become the ruler of a country, which is much more comfortable than being a vassal king, and they can also realize their ambitions."
Zhu Chun and Zhu Quan immediately became serious and no longer needed to be as 'cautious' as before, because Emperor Ying Shi had finally brought up the important matter, a major issue that many members of the imperial clan were concerned about.
This is no exaggeration. Ever since the fourth and sixth brothers were first granted the titles of Dongri and Fuyue, many members of the imperial clan have seen more possibilities. Some may not be planning to go to some harsh and desolate place to suffer, but there are indeed some who want to become a 'founding emperor'.
This is also why Zhu Yunwen was so successful during this period. As many people know, although Emperor Ying Shi did not like to enfeoff princes within the Ming Dynasty, he was happy to allow members of the Ming imperial family to establish vassal states around the Ming Dynasty.
Previously, people might have thought that Emperor Yingshi was just making empty promises and trying to appease the imperial clan. However, the examples of Dongri and Fuyue showed everyone that Emperor Yingshi's previous words were not just empty talk; Emperor Yingshi truly intended to establish vassal states around the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Chun and Zhu Quan now see more possibilities; they may soon have the opportunity to become the 'founding emperors'.
Zhu Yunying looked at the somewhat excited Zhu Chun and Zhu Quan and said seriously, "The court will definitely conquer Goryeo. It is indeed the will of our imperial family that the Ming Dynasty should establish two kingdoms."
While it's somewhat regrettable that Goryeo couldn't be unified, Zhu Chun and Zhu Quan's actions are somewhat understandable. A unified Goryeo wasn't actually in the Ming Dynasty's interest; a vassal state that was too powerful was practically digging a hole for future generations.
So, the division of Goryeo into two and then into three was something that everyone could have predicted long ago. Just like Japan was also divided up back then, and there was even a pseudo-emperor there who continued to retreat. Japan is actually still in a 'three-way standoff', and the fourth and sixth brothers still have a lot to do.
Zhu Yunying continued, "Let's not lie. Although those areas were once the four commanderies of the Han Dynasty and had descendants of Han Chinese, for thousands of years, those people have had no place to belong and may not even recognize their Han bloodline."
This is normal. Not to mention that Goryeo has its own ethnicity and culture, even in the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, where the Ming Dynasty ruled for more than 30 years, many people still retain some of the customs of the Khitan, Mongols or Jurchens. And this is only five or six hundred years!
“We are also thinking about Busan Sanwei and Tsushima Island, where they control silver mines in Japan. I trust you all, my royal uncles, but I can’t guarantee that future generations won’t have other ideas.” Zhu Yunying said with a serious expression, “As for Goryeo, we need to leave a passage. You all should know what I mean.”
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