A triumphant Zhu Su left the palace, quite pleased with himself. He had already arranged a perfect husband for his second daughter—a very good one. His background, character, and abilities were all impeccable.
As for Xiao Zhu, he was also very happy, feeling that he had done something important and that he had handled it very well.
Little Zhu didn't hide anything and immediately told Zhu Yunying what had happened in the Wenhua Hall. Little Zhu was still sensible; although he had agreed to some things, they all required his father's approval.
Zhu Yunying was both amused and exasperated, then gritted his teeth in anger. His fifth uncle was truly a complete scoundrel. It was said that Zhu Yunying was powerless against his younger brother Zhu Yunwen, but that was just an illusion. The biggest playboy among the Ming Dynasty's imperial family was always Zhu Su.
Zhu Su was the youngest son raised by Emperor Zhu and Empress Ma, so he was very favored.
The princess was the second daughter of Feng Sheng, one of the six founding dukes, and was originally enfeoffed in the wealthy Jiangnan region. Although the Jiangnan region was an important source of tax revenue for the Ming government, it was not suitable for establishing a princely fiefdom. Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang changed Zhu Su's fiefdom to Kaifeng and changed his title from Prince of Wu to Prince of Zhou.
However, Kaifeng was the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, and Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang had considered making Kaifeng the capital.
Zhu Su, this favored prince, was uneducated and incompetent, but had a great interest in plants and medicine. He left his fiefdom without permission and was scolded and punished by his father-in-law, Zhu, while secretly associating with his father-in-law, Feng Sheng, who held military power.
It was only because Zhu Yuanzhang favored Zhu Su that Zhu Yuanzhang protected him; otherwise, Zhu Su would have been deposed long ago.
Looking at the memorial, Zhu Yunying was speechless. "Everyone says our fifth uncle is a playboy, but if it comes to scheming, how many people can outsmart him!"
Xu Maoxian was the posthumous son of Xu Da's third son. This kid had a relatively low profile in the Zhongshan Prince's Mansion, but he was still Little Zhu's cousin, and his uncles were either Dukes or Marquises of the Ming Dynasty.
Xu Maoxian, who was to be appointed as a prince consort, would actually be entering the palace to take up a post in two years. He would definitely become a Ming Dynasty meritorious guard like his deceased father, and he would have no shortage of opportunities to make merits and get promoted. It would be no problem for him to serve as a governor or vice governor in the Five Military Commissions.
Well, Zhu Yunying didn't intend to say anything more about his fifth uncle's little schemes. It's understandable for a father to consider his children, and Xu Maoxian wasn't particularly important anyway, nor did he affect any of Zhu Yunying's plans.
Since that's the case, Zhu Yunying will just turn a blind eye to this matter and doesn't need to worry about it anymore.
The magnanimous Joo Yoon-young may not care about some things, but many things others have to care about.
For example, Yu Xin, the Minister of Revenue, is now feeling some pressure and feels that he should perhaps retire.
During the Hongwu reign, civil and military officials were accustomed to seeing the positions of Ministers of the Six Ministries frequently changed, with two ministers changing every year, which was considered a trivial matter. Even if a minister's position remained vacant for two or three years, it was not a cause for alarm.
However, Yu Xin had been serving as Minister of Revenue since the 26th year of the Hongwu reign. He had been in this position for far too long, six or seven years already. The Ministry of Revenue was such a sensitive position that he was not suited to continue indefinitely.
This is probably a case of retiring at the height of one's career. Yu Xin felt that if he stepped down at this time, he might be able to create a beautiful story of a ruler and his minister.
Just as Yu Xin was still pondering, his favorite, Xia Yuanji, arrived.
"Your Excellency," Xia Yuanji said politely, but with a bitter expression, "the Grand Minister of Works went to see me again today."
Grand Minister of Works, that is the elegant title for the Minister of Works. As for Xia Yuanji calling Yu Xin "Grand Chancellor," it's not a big problem. Although Yu Xin wasn't a prime minister, the Ming Dynasty didn't have a prime minister, and the Minister of Revenue was considered the pinnacle of civil service positions.
If one were to use more elegant terms like "Situ" or "Diguan" to refer to the Minister of Revenue, that would obviously be somewhat disrespectful.
Yu Xin was annoyed. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Wei Zhe, is the Grand Minister of Works inquiring about the money and grain again?"
Xia Yuanji nodded and said, "The Grand Minister of Works is, after all, a former official of His Majesty's former residence, and has achieved considerable political success over the years. Since the Grand Minister of Works has summoned me, I dare not refuse. However, since this matter concerns the Ministry of Revenue and the Bank, I dare not speak out openly."
Yu Xin understood this as well. Yan Zhenzhi, the Minister of Works, was indeed a special case, seemingly inferior to figures like Ru Chang, who had once served as the Emperor's study companions. However, Yan Zhenzhi was among the earliest civil officials to serve under the current Emperor.
To be honest, when Ru Chang was a student companion, he didn't actually hold a very important position in the court. At that time, Ru Chang was just an outstanding student at the Imperial Academy, having become a tribute student at the age of sixteen, which was considered precocious and intelligent.
Ru Chang, who could recite a thousand poems at the age of six and was well-versed in the "Great Learning" and "Doctrine of the Mean" by the age of ten, was indeed qualified to be the precocious emperor's study companion. However, at that time, Ru Chang was only a junior official, and he only gradually rose through the ranks after ranking first in the Ministry of Personnel examination.
The rapid promotions here might have been partly due to Ru Chang being the Crown Prince's study companion at the time.
Yan Zhenzhi, however, was different. Starting as a grain officer, he was appreciated by Zhu Yuanzhang and specially appointed as a councilor of the Ministry of Justice, then transferred to the Ministry of Revenue as a secretary, and later promoted to vice minister of the Ministry of Works. After Zhu Yuanzhang's death, Yan Zhenzhi was immediately selected as the minister of work, which is quite interesting.
Everyone knows that Yan Zhenzhi is the current emperor's confidant, but he is also a veteran minister of the Hongwu Emperor. Yan Zhenzhi, who is almost sixty years old, does a very good job as Minister of Works. During his tenure, he not only redressed many wrongful convictions, but also personally led laborers to divert water from the Xiang and Li Rivers to repair the Lingqu Canal in Xing'an County.
Guangxi was short of food, so Yan Zhenzhi devised ways to transport grain to the various garrisons in the food-scarce areas of Guangxi. Salt from Guangdong was also transported to Jiangxi, a feat that had never been accomplished before in history.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
