Joo Yun-young wasn't an idealist, so his perspective on things could be described as very realistic and inspiring. It wouldn't be unreasonable to say he was pessimistic; sometimes he did appear more pessimistic than others.
Zhu Yunying knew that fairness was unrealistic. He could try his best to be fair, but the reality was that he couldn't. Not only was absolute fairness not possible when dealing with his own children, but it also extended to matters of national importance.
Just like his four children now, even though Zhu Yunying currently dotes on Zhu Ruyi, his sons are ultimately more important. There's no way around it; the Zhu family truly possesses the dragon throne now, and it's meant to be passed down.
There's nothing wrong with spoiling Zhu Ruyi, but after all, Zhu Ruyi is just a princess, and there are still some differences between her and a prince.
Even among sons, the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children must be clearly defined. Even among legitimate sons, different treatment is necessary.
Ultimately, it all comes down to the Zhu family holding the throne. Regardless of whether Zhu Yunying intended to be biased, for the sake of the country, he often had no choice but to harden his heart. The saying that the imperial family is the most ruthless is not without reason.
Lian Qiongqiong knew her place. Watching Zhu Yunying teach Zhu Ruyi to write, she simply sat quietly beside him, serving him.
Looking at Lian Qiongqiong, Zhu Yunying said with a smile, "Your father-in-law's birthday is in a few days. Why don't you take Ruyi'er back to your parents' home? We won't give any gifts this time. Is that alright?"
Lian Qiongqiong paused for a moment, then said softly, "Your Majesty, I obey your decree."
Zhu Yunying couldn't help but laugh and said, "You're being too formal. It's your father-in-law's birthday, so we should give him a reward, that's only proper. But if you bring Ruyi back to your parents' home to celebrate, and we give you a reward then, that would be too much."
Lian Qiongqiong roughly understood what Zhu Yunying meant, and also knew that there wasn't actually a big problem with what the emperor said.
Lian Zining's birthday is naturally a big event. Lian Zining is, after all, an important official of the court, although under Zhu Yunying's deliberate arrangement, he is also a lone official. But no matter how lone he is, his status is still there, and many people cannot ignore it.
On the other hand, the Ming Dynasty did not have a true ruler. With Xu Da gone, Lian Zining seemed to have risen in status as well. In the harem, Lian Qiongqiong's position was second only to Xu Miaoqing, the Imperial Noble Consort.
Many people have also speculated that Lian Qiongqiong must have been extremely favored by the emperor, which is why the position of Imperial Noble Consort was specially created for her.
This can also be seen from the fact that Zhu Ruyi was particularly favored. Everyone knows that the Crown Prince's position is secure, but many people also know that the Emperor treats the princess as his precious jewel and is single-mindedly trying to make Zhu Ruyi the Princess of Fengyang.
The Hongwu Emperor would not agree, absolutely not. In his earlier years, Emperor Yingshi had bestowed the title of princess upon his two younger sisters, which was fine, but the nominal fiefdoms were only in a county within Fengyang Prefecture, which greatly displeased the Hongwu Emperor.
Even Zhu Yuanzhang's own daughter didn't receive such treatment, so Emperor Yingshi's daughter naturally couldn't expect it either. Fortunately, Zhu Ruyi was still young, and there was no rush to bestow titles upon him, so Zhu Yunying could continue to stall with Zhu Yuanzhang.
After spending the night at Lian Qiongqiong's place, Zhu Yunying slept in late and didn't need to rush to court, mainly because he had a day off.
After washing up and having breakfast, Zhu Yunying was in a good mood and practiced some boxing in the courtyard. Feeling refreshed and invigorated, he was completely relaxed.
Reclining leisurely in the armchair, Zhu Yunying said, "Ruyi, how about you read a book to me today? I don't want to read anymore, I just want to hear Ruyi read to me."
Zhu Ruyi was delighted and said with a smile, "Great! I love reading the most."
Nodding to Wang Chengen, Zhu Yunying said, "Go and hand over the memorials that have been compiled over the past two days."
The Yellow River changing its course is a major event, and naturally, it is recorded in some documents. Because of its abundant sand and tendency to silt up, and its unpredictable changes, the river changes its course very frequently, with the saying that it "breaches its banks twice every three years and changes its course once every hundred years." The earliest record is found in the "Yu Gong" chapter of the Book of Documents.
Because the Yellow River has such a great influence, every time it changes its course, whether large or small, there are records.
The earliest major change in the Yellow River's course occurred in the fifth year of King Ding of Zhou's reign. The second major change happened in the third year of Emperor Wu of Han's reign, and it took sixty or seventy years for the river to return to its original course. Three years after Wang Mang established his dynasty, the Yellow River changed course again, and for a period of several hundred years, it remained relatively stable overall.
However, in the early Northern Song Dynasty, the Yellow River frequently breached its banks, resulting in numerous short-term and short-distance diversions. In the eighth year of the Qingli reign of Emperor Renzong of Song, the river changed course again, forming what was known as the "Northern Flow." Twelve years later, it breached its banks again, and the resulting diversion was called the "Eastern Flow." Forty years later, the river ceased flowing.
During the Southern Song Dynasty, in order to defend against the southward advance of the Jin army, Du Chong, the garrison commander of Kaifeng, breached the Yellow River dikes, causing the Yellow River to become weak and split southeastward into the Si River and the Ji River before flowing into the sea. At this point, the Yellow River changed its course from flowing north into the Bohai Sea to flowing south into the Yellow Sea.
The current course of the Yellow River is also influenced by this, basically oscillating to the south, although it occasionally flows north. However, the prevailing view now is to force and block its southward flow.
Nowadays, during the period when the Yellow River flows south and merges with the Huai River before entering the sea, the main stream of the Yellow River downstream of Zhengzhou and upstream of Qingkou has also been constantly shifting. It enters the Huai River via the Si River, or the Bian River, or the Wo River, or via the Ying River, or at the same time splits into several branches to enter the Huai River.
In other words, the course of the Yellow River as understood by later generations did not actually exist in the early Ming Dynasty.
The old course of the Yellow River, as believed by later generations, was basically fixed during the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty when Pan Jixun managed the river.
Zhu Ruyi, the little assistant, was exceptionally capable, reading the memorial aloud with great expression. Although this little girl might not necessarily understand these things, she didn't need to understand any profound knowledge either; she just needed to obediently read the text.
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